News

With the support of UNI Finance and Nigerian affiliate Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), the ITUC has made a formal complaint to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) about loans to three Nigerian finance institutions: Diamond Bank, FCMB Mortgages and GT homes.

FCMB Mortgages is a subsidiary of First City Monument Bank while GT Homes is a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank, both Nigerian banks.

These two institutions, as well as Diamond Bank, are accused of employing anti-union policies to prevent workers from exercising their right to freedom of association and to collective bargaining.

The respect of basic trade union rights is a real issue in the Nigerian banking sector. In April, UNI General Secretary sent letters to seven Nigerian banks to protest over their refusal to allow employees to join unions.

The IFC is the "private sector arm" of the World Bank. It provides loans directly to the private sector in developing countries.

Companies that borrow from the IFC must not only agree to the financial terms of the loan but they must also consent to meet the IFC's Performance Standards. These are a set of 8 social and environmental standards. Performance Standard 2 addresses labour and working conditions and includes the right to freedom of association and to collective bargaining.

The IFC's Performance Standards are a powerful tool for trade unions. UNI Telecom has recently challenged a loan to a mobile phone company in Africa on the basis that their subcontractors were using child labour to sell phone cards. Another global union has managed to get access to workers and to organise a union on a large dam construction site in Uganda.