UT bank, Capital bank collapse: GCB not obliged to keep employees – Analyst

GCB Bank is not under any obligation to keep employees of UT Bank and Capital Bank who may be rendered jobless after the collapse of both banks, Labour Analyst, Kofi Davor has said.
At least about fifty percent of the workers of UT and Capital bank will be laid off, following the acquisition of the banks by GCB.
Citi News understands that the staff of the two banks who are a little over a thousand will be under probation for about six months under GCB before termination of their contracts.
It is believed that following the probation at least a quarter of workers of both banks will be absorbed while the remaining are likely to lose their jobs.
Mr. Davor on Eyewitness News explained that the responsibility lies with the liquidator, Pricewaterhousecoopers to find other job opportunities for those who would be affected by the development, and not necessarily GCB Bank.
“In the first place GCB Bank may not be obliged to engage workers of Capital Bank and UT Bank at all. They may choose to engage the services of employees but they may not be obliged,” he added.
“This is a partial liquidation and it is not as if Ghana Commercial Bank went in there to say that we are interested in these two banks so we are taking over the access and liabilities of the company so Ghana Commercial Bank may not have the responsibility to say they are obliged to engage the workers…”
Advice to affected workers
Mr. Davor further advised employees who are likely to be affected to engage relevant stakeholders who would ensure that they are treated fairly.
“I think the immediate thing is to get them organised. I am not too sure if any of the workers in these institutions belong to unions. If they don’t this is the time for them to engage in some expertise to represent and engage whoever they have to engage to ensure that they are not unfairly treated.
UT, Capital Bank staff to undergo skills assessment
In a related development, staff of former banks; UT bank and Capital bank will undergo skills assessment requirements to qualify for employment at the GCB bank.
This was revealed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GCB, Raymond Sowah on Tuesday during a press conference.
“…We shall conduct a skills assessment as part of integration process we need to know that we can bring everyone onboard or not. This is an expanded institution and as we go through the integration we should know what jobs to close down and what jobs to retain,” he explained.