Riyaz Patel
The Labour Court will Thursday pronounce whether the South African Society of Bank Officials (Sasbo) can proceed with what has been billed as the biggest banking strike in over 50 years.
The banking union plans to hold nationwide protest action Friday September 27.
It said some 50000 workers have indicated that they will take part in marches and picketing against recent retrenchments in the banking sector.
A second strike led by Cosatu is planned for October 7.
Sasbo general secretary Joe Koleka has warned the strike would result in a complete shutdown of systems, including ATMs.
Business Unity South Africa has filed an urgent court application to interdict the strike.
The matter was heard Wednesday, and judgment reserved for Thursday morning, Kaizer Moyane, BUSA’s Nedlac convener told Fin24.
Sasbo though, is undeterred, and said it plans to go ahead with the strike, which could see protest marches in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Bloemfontein.
In separate statements, Standard Bank, Nedbank, FNB and Absa encouraged customers to use online services Friday.
Standard Bank said it had “effective business continuity plans in place” to mitigate any impact of the strike, and that clients will have access to their digital channels and ATMs.
Nedbank expects its ATMs and digital banking platforms to be fully operational, while ABSA said some of its branches and ATMs may be affected, but assured it is “deploying business continuity and contingency plans.”
FNB has contingency measures in place to ensure its services are not interrupted on the day, Lee-Anne van Zyl, FNB Points of Presence CEO said. FNB has encouraged its customers to access services via the app, ATMs, online and cellphone banking.
