The Banking Association South Africa (Basa) says that its members are taking the necessary precautions to minimise disruption and inconvenience customers ahead of the proposed protest action on Friday (27 September).<\/p>\n
In a statement on Monday (23 September), Basa said that banks will be operating as usual on the day.<\/p>\n
“However, in case of any unavoidable disruptions at branches, bank customers should as far as possible make use of digital banking services,” it said.<\/p>\n
“Banks will be carefully monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of their customers and staff.”<\/p>\n
The association said that Business Unity South African (Busa) is also seeking to stop the protest as may not have satisfied the requirements for the action to be legally protected.<\/p>\n
“Basa and its members recognise the rights of bank workers to engage in protest action.<\/p>\n
“However, these actions need to be undertaken in terms of the law, to ensure the safety of the public, businesses and their customers, as well as the least possible disruption to the economy.<\/p>\n
“In the event of the protest action going ahead, we expect the authorities and unions to ensure it is peaceful and guarantee the safety of customers and property.”<\/p>\n
Changing world<\/strong><\/p>\n Basa said that the global banking industry is evolving in response to economic pressures, digital innovation and,\u00a0most importantly,\u00a0the changing way their customers use\u00a0and consume\u00a0financial services.<\/p>\n It added that the reduction of\u00a0staff number in many traditional banking services is a\u00a0worldwide\u00a0phenomenon.<\/p>\n “In part because of these global changes, many in the South African banking industry are\u00a0having to\u00a0restructure their businesses\u00a0to ensure\u00a0they\u00a0remain\u00a0sustainable and\u00a0relevant to the needs of\u00a0consumers,” it said.<\/p>\n Between them, South Africa\u2019s six largest banks had 152,441 employees in 2018. This is an increase of\u00a0more than 4,000 from 148,500\u00a0in\u00a02015.<\/p>\n Given the strong growth in smaller banks and\u00a0financial\u00a0technology companies,\u00a0the financial\u00a0system\u00a0in total remains a growing employer, Basa said.<\/p>\n “Protest\u00a0action will not help to address the realities affecting\u00a0the banking industry and will further\u00a0burden the economy and deter investment.<\/p>\n “The only sustainable solution is improved education and attracting\u00a0higher levels of investment to drive economic growth and job creation.\u00a0These require\u00a0government\u00a0labour and business to work together\u00a0in the national interest.”<\/p>\n
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