Nigerian Banks As Slave Camps - We have always known that but it still crazy.

Apart from working like elephants and feeding like ants, bank workers are subjected to many unwholesome labour conditions by their employers

Helen Asuquo (not real name) is a young, beautiful banker with the United Bank for Africa, UBA, Ikeja, Lagos. As a marketer in the bank, Asuquo said she had to use unconventional means, including sleeping with potential depositors, just to meet her quarterly target of N20 million.

In a particular encounter to get a fat account, a wealthy man, after sleeping with her promised to fetch her juicier government accounts if she would spread the favour to his friends. After succeeding in meeting her obligation to her employers, her reward for such hard work was a harder target, which was N100 million. The idea by the banks to give high and unrealistic targets to female marketers is widespread, with some as high as N500 million to N1billion, failing which they are sacked. This unsavoury practice is foisted on the female marketers irrespective of their marital status.

In a bid to meet these targets, married marketers are trapped in a sex-for-account situation. It is rife for some married bankers removing their wedding bands while marketing. This act was corroborated by a Nigerian billionaire with vast business empire, who once told this medium how a female marketer secretly removed her wedding ring in his office, while trying to convince him to open an account with her bank. In spite of the challenge the helpless marketers face, there is no guarantee that their jobs are secured with the banks.

This is one of the unethical practices in the banking sector. Others are casualisation, improper outsourcing of the workforce, long hours of work without commensurate monetary reward, and being eased out of the system without terminal and other benefits

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A female staff of one of the banks told this magazine in confidence that bank marketers are almost on the same pedestal with prostitutes. The only difference is that, while the bank staff dresses corporately with very short skirts that would get the proposed customer salivating and making promises under ‘duress’, prostitutes either hang out on the streets or brothels to get their customers. According to the lady, who works with Stanbic IBTC, once the target is fixed, it is left for the marketer to find the means to meet it. Those who can meet it are compensated, perhaps with promotion when the opportunity arises; those who can’t are either threatened endlessly or kicked into the labour market.

“It is no longer a big deal that marketers sleep with customers to meet targets. If any marketer tells you that she has not slept with a customer before, you have to run away from her because she is not telling you the truth,” the 34-year-old lady, who is still single, said.

She further revealed that, as obtains in most banks these days, a basic requirement for such job is beauty. In some cases, the female applicant is asked to forward a copy of her passport photograph and where she is found worthy, she faces the next step where she is tested on ability to speak fluently. Once she scales this, she gets the job.

“These days, they hardly conduct such difficult tests like it was done in the past, she disclosed. “Once you are beautiful and presentable, be sure of the job.”

Onobrorhie Deborah, a mother of two, is a contract staff with UBA. Despite having young kids to look after, she doesn’t return home until 8pm daily from work. Although the official closing hour is 5pm, she claimed that she is compelled to balance her account, which could take up to three to five hours, depending on the volume of the day’s transaction. Sadly, there are no commensurate benefits for the overtime done.

Culled from PM NEWS

I personally know friends who work in banks and closes officially by 8:00 pm. It's just unbelievable what some banks have made our sisters to become. Yes they may be bearing the name bankers but a lot of them have been drawn into corporate prostitution. When will this stop?