Unionists under the auspices of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Ondo State Council, on Thursday halted operations at a new generation bank’s Alagbaka branch in Akure.

The move by the members of AUPCTRE was said to be over the alleged failure of the bank to release the salaries of Anambra workers in its custody.

The protestors picketed the bank as early as 7:00 a.m. in solidarity with their counterparts in Anambra State, to show their discontent with the bank’s treatment of the workers.

According to the protesters, the bank refused to release N471 million held in its possession for the payment of salaries and emoluments to Anambra workers.

The protesters who barricaded the bank’s entrance chanted various solidarity songs and revealed that in 2019, a court case between AUPCTRE and the Anambra State Government was won over a debt of salaries and other allowances owed to the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA) and Anambra State Water Corporation Anambra, with the bank flagrantly disobeying the court order.

The protesters, armed with placards bearing various messages, demanded that the money be released immediately.

In response to the development, AUPCTRE’s National Deputy President, Comrade Oyesanmi Ilesanmi, who also serves as the union’s Ondo State Chairman, claimed the protest was in line with the union’s national order.

Ilesanmi revealed that a 21-day ultimatum was delivered to the bank, followed by a seven-day ultimatum that expired on Wednesday, but both were in vain.