Labour unions Cosatu and South African Society of Banking Officials (SASBO) will file an urgent appeal of Thursday’s Labour Court ruling.
The ruling declared their bank strike, which was initially slated for Friday, unprotected and interdicted them from proceeding with it.
It followed an earlier application by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), which acted on behalf of banks.
Cosatu’s deputy general secretary Solly Phetoe told Fin24 that they will file the appeal once Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker furnishes them with the full judgement.
Members to go to work on Friday
Phetoe said the labour federation has encouraged its members to comply with the ruling and report to work on Friday.
Obviously for tomorrow we are mobilising our members not to go out while we are processing the appeal. We do not want to put our members at risk as we are already in an economic crisis.
Cosatu’s Solly Phetoe
The two unions have now reportedly set 7 October as the new date for the strike.
BUSA welcomes ruling
Meanwhile, Kaizer Moyane, who is BUSA’s convener at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), welcomed the ruling.
He said it’s an opportunity for Cosatu and SASBO to engage in further dialogue at Nedlac before resorting to the strike “last resort.”
SASBO’s general secretary Joe Kokela also appeared to suggest that the unions will go back to Nedlac.
He said, “Nedlac is a platform for social dialogue and we expect all stakeholders to play their part.”
In terms of the Labour Relations Act, Nedlac can only issue a strike certificate once stakeholders fail to reach an agreement.