Labour court to test disputed strike-ballot law
• Lobby group Busa launches bid to interdict finance union Sasbo’s planned shutdown on Friday
The interpretation of a law requiring a secret ballot before unions embark on a strike is set to take centre stage in the labour court in Johannesburg on Wednesday in a case to prevent a shutdown of the banking sector. Lobby group Business Unity SA has approached the court in a bid to interdict finance union Sasbo, an affiliate of trade union federation Cosatu, from embarking on the planned shutdown on Friday. The union is protesting against job losses and retrenchments.
The interpretation of a law requiring a secret ballot before unions embark on a strike is set to take centre stage in the labour court in Johannesburg on Wednesday in a case to avert a shutdown of the banking sector.
Lobby group Business Unity SA (Busa) approached the court in a bid to interdict finance union Sasbo, an affiliate of labour federation Cosatu, from embarking on the planned shutdown on Friday. The union is protesting against industry job losses and retrenchments.
About 50,000 Sasbo members confirm they will down tools, said general secretary Joe Kokela. He expected the number to rise as Cosatu called on its members to support the action.
The strike-ballot law came into effect on January 1, and unions were given six months to amend their constitutions to include the clause.
Unions said the legislation takes away workers’ democratic right to strike. The National Union of Mineworkers of SA said it plans to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said Busa attempts to use the courts to undermine the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) “and coerce workers into submission will fail”.
“Cosatu has resolved to do more to hold the private sector accountable. The banking sector has been one of the most profitable sectors in the past two decades. They do not have a crisis of profits,” Pamla said.
Sasbo’s protest comes amid job losses as banks digitise operations in trying to fend off competition from tech-savvy newcomers such as Bank Zero, TymeBank and Discovery. Standard Bank, SA’s second-largest bank, closed 91 branches, affecting 1,200 employees, as it realigns its retail and business banking delivery model with the demands of the tech revolution.
On Monday, the Banking Association SA (Basa) said Busa is seeking to stop the protest as Cosatu’s notice sent to Nedlac in terms of which Sasbo plans to act “may not have satisfied the requirements for the action to be legally protected”.
Basa said the Nedlac notice was issued in August 2017 and should not be relied on in 2019.
Kokela rejected Basa’s argument, saying, “these are delaying tactics that will not succeed”. Sasbo filed opposing documents, Kokela said on Tuesday.
“One of their arguments is that they don’t believe we followed proper processes in filing for the section 77 notice [dealing with protest action.
“They are also arguing that we didn’t ballot our members,” he said. The Labour Relations Amendment Act requires balloting of members only when a union intends embarking on a strike under section 64, Kokela said. “We filed our application under section 77, which deals with protected protest action. If we wanted to go on a strike, we would have filed under section 64,” he said.
Kokela said the Nedlac notice issued in 2017 is still valid. “You can use the certificate any time you want as long as it has not been enforced. There is no law that says you must use the certificate within a certain period.”
Basa said protest action will not help to tackle the realities affecting banking, and “will further burden the economy and deter investment”. The Reserve Bank predicts growth of only 0.6% for 2019 and less than 2% through to 2021.
Basa said SA banks know about unemployment jumping from 27.6% to 29% in the second quarter. Banks are expected to operate as usual on Friday, but in case of disruptions at branches, customers should use digital banking services, Basa said.
The SA Revenue Service said if protest action goes ahead, contingency plans are in place to mitigate negative effects on taxpayers and traders.
THE BANKING SECTOR HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST PROFITABLE SECTORS IN THE PAST TWO DECADES. THEY DO NOT HAVE A CRISIS OF PROFITS