Monrovia – FrontPageAfrica has reliably learnt that Access Bank is involved with bad labor practice. This newspaper was told by an anonymous source within the bank that several of its Liberian employees are denied overtime payments and there is huge salary disparity between the local staffs and foreigners.
Report by Henry Karmo, [email protected]
However, the bank has played down the allegations stating that they (allegations) have been issues the bank has dealt with in the past according to Dogba K. Norris, Access Bank’s Finance Manager, who spoke to us in a telephone interview. He didn’t agree to take more inquiries and just hung off. However, before he turned his phone off, he stated that what he had said was the bank’s official response.
The whistleblower, who spoke to this newspaper stressed that daily, these staffs are allegedly compelled to work overtime without any compensation for those extra hours.
“The bank argues that there exists no records of employees working overtime. It has been able to put into place an attendance system where employees are only allowed to sign-in and not sign out,” our source further stated.
According to him, staffs of the Banking Services and Credit Departments are made to work up to 10 midnight or beyond on many occasions.
“In some cases, transport officers of the bank also work through the entire night without overtime pay. For example, a transport officer can make between two to three trips at the Roberts International Airport at various intervals through the night.
“These officers along with many other employees, are made to go home vulnerable at night because they are compelled to park the bank’s cars at the various branches during late hours in the night and make their way home when it is difficult to find commercial vehicles or motor cyclists thus exposing them to danger,” our source said.
He further disclosed that since the establishment of the Bank in 2009, management paid employees in both Liberian and United States Dollars, until December 2017 when it abolished it. “This was done without any communication regarding what percentage of employees’ salaries was paid in Liberian Dollars or United States Dollars.”
“This strategy by management has caused employees to experience unprecedented reduction in monthly net salary. For example, an employee receives an employment package stating his/her salary is US$300 and L$20,000. What percentage of the salary is L$20,000? The response from the HR Department is and has always been ‘That’s management decision.’”
According to him, to make make matter worse, the management in December 2017 changed the employment contract of all employees excluding foreigners, ordering the salary of every employee to be paid in Liberian Dollars.
This change to one currency salary payment took effect as of January 2018, while foreign employees continue to take pay in United States Dollars.
According to him, some of the positions occupied by foreigners at the bank include, Credit Manager, Chief Information Officer, Project Manager-Mobile Banking, Head of SME Business Development Manager, Internal Audit Consultant and Legal Consultant
“What baffles me most is the position of Legal Consultant. This position is occupied by an American. Our law clearly prohibits foreigners from practicing law in Liberia. How can the bank hire a foreigner as Legal Consultant when he cannot even practice law in our country? As it stands, the bank has no mechanism in place to recruit Liberians to fill these positions.”
Our source also disclosed that the bank’s management pays these expatriates huge sum of money through Access Holding AG in Berlin, German.