Standard Bank employees who have been affected by the restructuring in the bank's IT operations have until tomorrow to apply for 62 available positions in the department.
This comes after the bank announced last week that it will restructure 148 roles in its IT division, following a thorough review that revealed areas of inefficiencies and duplication.
Eugene Ebersohn, assistant general secretary of finance trade union Sasbo, says the remaining 86 employees who do not get reappointed will be given the option to apply for incentivised voluntary retrenchment. "If you elect to apply for voluntary retrenchment and it is approved, you will get a 50% enhancement on your retrenchment package," says Ebersohn.
He says it is expected that a number of employees will opt for voluntary retrenchment, especially those who have been at the bank for a long time or are considering early retirement.
In terms of an agreement between Sasbo and Standard Bank, the bank will attempt to redeploy the remainder of employees elsewhere in the bank. "Those who cannot be placed elsewhere will be given contractual notice of termination of employment come end of September," says Ebersohn.
Standard Bank spokesperson Erik Larsen declined to comment on the restructuring, saying "it would be inappropriate to comment as we have to respect the affected employees".
Proper procedure
Ebersohn says while the union is never happy when jobs are lost, it acknowledges that legislation allows restructuring if it makes economic sense.
"There are two things we as a union can do: take them [the bank] to court when they do not follow proper legal procedure, or call on our members to strike. Standard Bank has followed the required legal process and our members won't strike, because you can strike till you are blue in the face, your position will still be redundant," says Ebersohn.
He notes the union is happy that a little bit of choice has been offered by Standard Bank to the affected employees.
A restructuring process initiated by Absa last year led to about 1 600 IT professionals being told to reapply for their jobs and saw fewer than 30 staff members left without a job. Trade union Solidarity took Absa to court to force it to consult with the union over the retrenchment process, after the bank said it will only consult with Sasbo.
Solidarity spokesperson Moira-Marie Kloppers says the trade union was included in discussions on the Standard Bank restructuring, but confirmed that none of its members will be affected.
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