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Harare – Zimbabwean bank workers on Monday called on the banking populace to boycott services offered by Stanbic Bank - a division of JSE listed Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] - until it respects its employees through raising their salaries and cover their medical fees among other demands.
The Standard Bank Zimbabwean unit, Stanbic, is one of the stronger financial units in the country amid reports that most of the locally owned banks are battling to stay afloat.
However, pressure has been mounting on the banks to meet the expectations of their employees who have to face a fast rise in the cost of living in a country whose economy has been in deflation in the past five months.
The least paid bank worker in Zimbabwe earns about $625 a month before pension and other deductions. The workers at Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe are demanding a 10% increase on this and in addition, want the bank to increase a school fees allowance above $200.
“We have been forced onto the streets because of this bad financial institution. This bank does not respect its workers as it does not pay them well,” said Peter Mutasa, general secretary of the Zimbabwe Bank and Allied Workers Union (Zibawu) in an address to the striking bank workers who were demonstrating on behalf of Stanbic Zimbabwe workers.
The demonstration was staged in front of the Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe head office in Harare.
Mutasa said Standard Bank was exploiting its workers in Zimbabwe through underpaying them and accused the Zimbabwe management of awarding themselves huge salaries and other perks as well as buying the latest vehicles for top management.
“We are starting a boycott campaign for people to boycott banking with Stanbic Zimbabwe. The bank’s workers are demanding salaries that will enable them to buy food and pay for other expenses,” he said.
The president of Zibawu, Farai Katsande, said the Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe workers wanted a salary that would leave them above the poverty datum line of about $555 after deductions. He said the workers were also demanding 100% medical cover as Stanbic Bank was only covering 70% of medical cover.
“Other banks in the country have had internal negotiations with their workers and have awarded their workers better salaries. When we look at the profit position of Stanbic, there is a mismatch with how the bank pays its employees,” said Katsande.
Stanbic Zimbabwe recorded an $18.3m profit after tax for the year to the end of December 2013, an increase of almost $1m from the previous contrasting period’s profit of $17.2m.
However, the bank’s operating expenses were 13% higher compared to the year earlier. Other banks in Zimbabwe last week reported declining profitability for the half year period to the end of June.
There was no immediate comment from Stanbic Bank’s office in Zimbabwe. However, sources at the bank said management had told representatives of the bank’s workers that it was facing rising operating costs and that the workers were demanding too much.
- Fin24
