Business Unity South Africa (Busa) applied for an interdict to halt the nationwide strike that is against the retrenchment of workers and digital banking. Busa says it applied for an interdict as the strike has been planned on the basis of a section 77 notice that was actually done in August 2017. It argues that the notice is outdated and so cannot be used in 2019.

Busa maintains that Friday’s labour action may not have satisfied the requirements for it to be legal. Based on the premise that the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) notice was first issued in August 2017 and Busa says it should not be relied on in 2019.

Around 40 000 members are expected to take part in the strike on Friday, the members are expected to down tools over retrenchments in the banking sector. The union has declared a total shutdown of the banking sector.

In Gauteng, the strike is expected to start at Cosatu House down to the bank city where the memorandum will be handed over. In Durban, they will go to the city hall.

All the planned strikes are scheduled to start at 10am and finish around 2pm.

Meanwhile, Sasbo has warned bank users to withdraw money and fill up their tanks on Thursday as ATMs and POS – also known as swipe machines – may not be operational.

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has announced that contingency plans are in place ahead of the anticipated bank strike on Friday. In a statement, Sars says that it will work with all roleplayers to avert any disruptions to the country’s financial system.

SABC News