The planned banking strike for Friday should be seen as a warning to South Africa that better planning is necessary to deal with the changes brought about by the development of new technology, says the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Banks have changed a great deal since the first ATMs were introduced but whether or not the service provided has improved for all customers is an open question,” said Mr Geoff Jacobs, President of the Chamber.
“There is still a need for personal service especially for older people and those with less education. There is also the issue of social responsibility in this time of high unemployment rates.”
It was also necessary to understand that banks were in a difficult position. They had to deal with increasing competition in a stagnant economy and policy uncertainty created by government indecision and plans for expropriation of bonded property without compensation.
The Chamber did not believe that strike action, which could be massively disrupting, was the answer as it could worsen the situation and create more problems than it solved.
Difficult decisions had to be made but South Africans were known for their ingenuity and compromise was possible. “We need to find something between retrenchment and, for example, the service station industry which decided to retain petrol pump attendants instead of following the self-service model,” Mr Jacobs said.
At present the six largest banks had 152 441 employees and that did not seem a lot for companies that had branches in virtually every town in the country and many branches in the cities. There should be room for a successful negotiation process.
“We have to come to terms with the likely effects of the fourth industrial revolution and this seems like a good opportunity to start the process and for both sides to do some constructive thinking,” Mr Jacobs said.
