A sick out by Barbados National Bank (BNB) staff today, resulted in the closure of the Wildey and Limegrove branches and long lines at five of the six remaining locations across the island.
Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager, Deborah Stoute told NATIONNews that despite this, they have been dealing adequately with the banking needs of their customers.
“The lines today would have been long, even if we had been fully staffed. Today is pensions and a government pay-day so the length of time someone would have to wait, yes, would be a little bit longer because we don’t have a full complement on the front line,” she said.
Stoute noted that certain plans had been put in place to deal with the situation and urged the Bank’s customers to make full use of ATM and Internet Banking facilities.
In a statement released around 11.30 this morning, the bank confirmed “unusually high staff absenteeism across the branch network, due to staff calling in sick.”
It also confirmed that negotiations are continuing with the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) for a new collective agreement.
“While the Bank has not directly linked the employees’ action to the current wage negotiations, it is terming any such action as premature and extreme, given that negotiations are still underway under the Chairmanship of the Chief Labour Officer,” the release said.
