Standard Bank retrenchment process contrary to legislation - Solidarity

Solidarity could approach the Labour Court

The trade union Solidarity said today that it could possibly approach the Labour Court to halt Standard Bank's retrenchment process if the banking giant does not immediately send a section 189 notice to the trade union. This comes after the bank's announcement today that it plans on retrenching 1 200 of its permanent employees in South Africa, 300 permanent employees in London as well as 600 contract workers before the end of this month.

At a meeting with Solidarity last week the bank undertook to send a written notice containing all the information about the planned retrenchments to the trade union. However, Solidarity has still not received any information and yesterday presented a written ultimatum to the bank.

"The Labour Relations Act clearly stipulates that an employer that is planning retrenchments must consult with all the unions involved, regardless of the number of members the union has," said Gideon du Plessis, deputy general secretary of Solidarity. "Solidarity is now demanding that all the trade unions that have members at the bank should be properly informed, in terms of legislation, about the planned retrenchments and that everyone should be consulted," he added.

Meanwhile Solidarity is still questioning Standard Bank's rationale for the retrenchments. The banking group spends about R350 million per year on foreign contractors, and foreigners receive almost double the remuneration that local employees with the same job description receive.

Solidarity is demanding that, in addition to information about the reasons for the retrenchments and the number of employees that will be affected, Standard Bank must also provide complete information about the bank's financial state. In addition, Solidarity is demanding that Standard Bank should indicate what steps have been taken to avoid or reduce retrenchments, what criteria will be followed to identify employees for retrenchment and how the bank will assist employees.

"The uncertainty caused by retrenchments such as these has a tremendous impact on employees and their families. It is common for cases of depression, family violence, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide and even family murder to increase sharply under conditions like these," Du Plessis explained. "The situation is being aggravated exponentially by Standard Bank's rash action and poor communication with its staff about the retrenchment. Consequently, rumours are spread, which causes panic," he added.

"Standard Bank is a financially sound company that wants to expand to markets such as Nigeria, Argentina and Russia, but now the bank wants its employees to pay for these expansions," Du Plessis said. "While it is good news for South Africa that the banking giant is planning to expand, it cannot be at the expense of its employees in South Africa," he added.

Statement issued by Marius Croucamp, Solidarity spokesperson, October 22 2010

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