Retrenched bank employees cry foul after failed mediation
169 bank employees endured a black Christmas after losing jobs
Sixty-four (64) aggrieved former Absa Bank Botswana employees have failed to reach a settlement with the bank after complaining to the commissioner of labour that they were unfairly retrenched.
All hopes of mediation disappeared on Tuesday after the bank argued that it had followed the correct process, and therefore, the retrenchment in their view, was fair and procedural. A certificate declaring failure to settle the dispute between the two parties has been signed by mediator Tebogo Sigwele of labour office and it reads,
“A mediation hearing was held on the 9th and 16th April 2024, and I am satisfied that there are no prospects of settlement at this stage of the dispute as per the attached report. Now therefore in pursuance of section 7 (18) of the Trade Dispute Act, this certificate is hereby issued notifying both parties that either party may now refer the said dispute to the industrial court for a hearing and determination.”
It is believed that 169 employees across the country lost their jobs. ey allege that they were informed of a looming retrenchment exercise on the 9 th December 2023 and on the 21st of the same month, slapped with retrenchment letters. “We were not told why we were being laid off; we really do not understand what happened. It is not fair to give notice and in less than a month send people packing. If there was a problem, we had to be told well in time so that we prepare. We are shocked because the bank recently announced it was making millions in profit, why retrench?”
e aggrieved say out of the 169 that got retrenched, only 64 approached the labour office for mediation and now that it has failed, they are still deciding if they will be going to court or not.
“We are not sure how others are feeling about losing their jobs but for us we are in pain. Losing a job means a lot, our children were in private schools, we had no time to make other plans for them and those who were on medical aid were left stranded. “Imagine all those with chronic illnesses, no time to decide how they will be footing medical bills,” they cried. e former employees strongly feel that Absa did them wrong after many years of being loyal to the bank. What hurts them most is the realisation that while they cry, Absa has moved on. “We have seen them advertise our positions. Why were we retrenched only for the bank to re-hire less than three months later? ey are intending to employ 30 people and we anticipate that more vacant positions will be advertised soon,” they said. An advert bearing the date 14 April 2024 as deadline for application, which this publication has seen, calls for positions of branch managers, heads of operations, Fraud operations manager, SME banker and Business Development Manager. By press time this week, Absa Bank had not responded to an inquiry made by this publication on the matter.