Cosatu Bank strike sasbo

Photo: Cosatu / Twitter

It’s not over yet: Cosatu, Sasbo vow to overturn bank strike ban

The unions may have been defeated on Thursday, but Cosatu remain defiant. They’ve already put the wheels in motion to revive their bank strike plans.

Cosatu Bank strike sasbo

Photo: Cosatu / Twitter

Two groups planning to shut down South Africa on Friday with a nationwide bank strike have been stopped in their tracks, after the Labour Court interdicted the planned protests, effectively outlawing them. However, Cosatu and Sasbo remain defiant, and the trade unions have promised to come roaring back.

Will a bank strike happen on Friday in South Africa?

Disruption will now be minimised, if not wholly averted. Some rebellious workers may still choose to leave their positions, but it will be nothing like the numbers of 40 000 upwards we’ve previously been quoted. They will not be protected by law, and could lose their jobs if they abandon their positions to join an illegal demonstration.

Your branches will function as normal, and despite a big push from the likes of FNB and Nedbank to convince customers to use mobile and online banking tools on Friday, they will not be stretched to capacity in-branch as previously forecasted. ATM services and card transactions are expected to run smoothly, too.

Cosatu react to Labour Court judgement

Reacting to the judgement, both Cosatu and Sasbo told their members to arrive at work on Friday. It’s now unlikely that we’ll see any form of demonstrations this week. But both outfits confirmed they will be launching an appeal against the judgement, and plans for another bank strike have been resubmitted:

How the bank strike was averted… for now:

All eyes were fixed on the Labour Court on Monday morning, as talk of the proposed bank strike had dominated the discourse in South Africa this week. Applicants have become frustrated with the role tech is playing in their work, and a recent wave of retrenchments pushed unions to this point.

However, the presiding judge slammed both Cosatu and Sabo for “failing to comply” with the Labour Laws of South Africa. Their decision to announce a nationwide strike was based on an request filed in 2017 – Business Unity South Africa, who asked for the interdict, successfully argued that thier application was out of date:

“Cosatu and Sasbo have failed to comply with the provisions of the LRA. Any person who takes part in the intended protest action does not enjoy protections granted by the LRA. Cosatu and Sasbo are interdicted from continuing with the intended strike action; Cosatu is instructed to advise its members that the intended strike action is unlawful.”

Labour Court