ABSA has accused trade union Solidarity of interfering with its internal processes, and saying it does not recognise the union as a labour organisation. Photo: Simphiwe Mbokazi. ABSA has accused trade union Solidarity of interfering with its internal processes, and saying it does not recognise the union as a labour organisation. Photo: Simphiwe Mbokazi.
ABSA has hit back at trade union Solidarity, accusing it of interfering with its internal processes, and saying it does not recognise the union as a labour organisation.
The bank has been under fire since the union accused it of wanting to retrench 10 percent of its workers.
Sasbo, the financial services union recognised by the bank, said it was happy with the Absa restructuring process.
This week, Solidarity launched a campaign to stop Absa from “retrenching” staff. Solidarity is not a recognised union in the banking industry.
Sasbo, which represents 70 000 bank employees countrywide, said on Wednesday it was satisfied its members would not be retrenched, but warned that it would take the bank to court if it went against their agreement.
Absa has been involved in a restructuring exercise since 2009. In that time, a number of its units were merged.
Last year, 145 people were retrenched. This year, Solidarity raised concerns when more than 140 people in the IT department were affected.
On Tuesday, Solidarity sent out a press release slamming the bank, saying Absa was going to cut 10 percent of its staff.
It called on South Africans to join their cause by sending protest messages to Marcus Agius, the chairman of Barclays in England, urging him to stop the retrenchments. Barclays owns Absa.
Solidarity said it would use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube videos to garner public support.
On Wednesday, Sasbo’s Absa shop steward Comfort Duma said Absa had met with them, in line with the Labour Relations Act, and explained the restructuring exercise. Duma said their understanding was that none of its members would be retrenched.
On Wednesday, Absa HR executive Fergus Marupen said they had frozen 3 500 jobs last year as part of the restructuring.
Marupen said in this round of the exercise, 145 IT workers had been deemed surplus. The IT department had placed 1 500 of the 1 700 staff, 35 had resigned and 145 were unassigned.
They had three months (until the end of June) within which Absa could find them alternative positions, failing which they would get a month’s notice and a package.
Dirk Hermann, Solidarity’s deputy general secretary, said they were acting on behalf of individuals. “Originally, only 33 people called on us, now close to 480 people across Absa have called on us. There is nothing we can do until they are retrenched at the end of March.”
lynnette.johns@inl.co.za
Cape Argus