The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU Free State has noted the callous and inhumane approach that African Bank has employed towards the substantive negotiations currently taking place with COSATU Affiliated SASBO. The Bank was expected to respond to issues on the table which related to the improvement of working conditions of our members in the bank. Instead of responding the bank started shooting from the hip and issued labour with an intention to retrench workers.

We find this reckless and unhelpful and it is a sign that the bank is negotiating in bad faith. It is regrettable that this bank has developed a reckless reputation of dealing with both clients and employers. The bank has a terrible record of not complying with the rules and regulations of the country. They are not loyal to the country or to the workers but they are loyal to their bottom line.

They have a long history of deploying mercenary tactics of destroying jobs. Some years ago, they bought the Ellerines group and single handedly destroyed the company from within by closing the purchase deals in store and replacing it with the famous African bank loan scheme with agents located within the same stores. When the sales plummeted at the Ellerines group; African bank destroyed all the jobs there and closed down the store.

They are currently prepared to destroy people’s lives in pursuit of profits We call on the bank to stop plunging our country into even a deeper crisis of joblessness and poverty. The bank has a corporate responsibility as a corporate citizen to advance the interest of the society within which it does its business. We call in African bank to go back to the negotiations table and finalize the process and give the workers the well-deserved improvement of benefits for workers as employees.

Issued by COSATU Free State

Enquiries Provincial Secretary Monyatso oa Mahlatsi @ 051 447 5499 or 076 115 9923