The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged the Bank of Ghana to  "safeguard all the existing jobs" following the consolidation of five struggling banks.

The labour union in a statement, says it welcomes the decision by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and h expressed confidence in the established of the Consolidated Bank but warned against possible job losses.

“We welcome the establishment of the Consolidated Bank," TUC General Secretary, Yaw Baah, said in a press statement

"The Consolidated Bank gives us the confidence that depositors’ funds are safe. Any loss of funds will considerably damage the confidence in the banking sector which can have very serious consequences for the entire economy.”

There has been fears the move by the Central Bank can result in job losses.

“Given the current state of joblessness in the country, it is important that developments in the banking sector and the measures being taken to address them do not add to the huge unemployment challenge. We urge Bank of Ghana to do everything in its power to safeguard all the existing jobs,” TUC said.

But the Central Bank, after the move, has allayed fears they could be job loss

The central bank last week consolidated five local banks into what it calls the Consolidated Bank Ghana limited.

Beige Bank, Construction bank, Royal bank, uniBank and Sovereign bank were accused of breaching BoG regulations and were said to have also run into liquidity challenges.

According to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, some of the banks obtained their licenses through false means by presenting documents that painted a picture as though they could meet the new capital requirement.

The TUC also joined calls for a probe into the activities of banks that led to their eventual collapse.

Source: ghanaguardian.com