Union, Standard Chartered at loggerheads over salary negotiations
The Botswana Financial Institutions and Aligned Workers Union ( BOFIAWU) is at loggerheads with Standard Chartered Bank Botswana ( SCBB) over the displeasure over salaries. is follows the negotiations for the 2023/ 2024 financial period by the two parties.
In an interview this week, General Secretary Tidimalo Kgaswane of BOFIAWU narrated that they started 2023/ 2024 salary negotiations with SCB on 23 April 2024, with other intense meetings held on the 30th April 2024 and 7th May 2024. e parties then subsequently held the last meeting on the 28 May 2024.
Kgaswane explained that this is when the parties invoked a clause in their Collective Bargaining Agreement ( CBA) to go into a cooling o period since the parties disagree on the positions.
“We followed all negotiations and when we got to a cooling o period the bank proceeded to pay non- unionised staff members. We advise our membership to remain calm as we believe a positive outcome in our negotiations will prevail.
“As a union, under our bargaining agreement, we shall engage further with Standard Chartered Bank Botswana to nd an amicable mutually bene ting solution to this issue”.
According to a reliable source within the bank, the bank paid non- unionised members for the month of June 2024 applying a divide and rule tactic. is has resulted with members terminating memberships with the union as they claimed to have nancial constraints. is emanates from the rule the bank indirectly imposed on the union members to find the union unworthy negotiator in their welfare, the source said.
It is alleged that furthermore, the bank wants a one- third threshold to unsubscribe from the union, so that the union becomes null and void within SCBB.
According to insiders, the bank is also on the verge of retrenching, and they do not want to pay people what is due to them and by ultimately de- recognising the union they would do as they please since the union will not negotiate better exit packages for its members.
“Many of the negotiation team members are leaving the bank before the conclusion of the negotiations which is a clear indication that there is more to the story,” the source alleged.
Kgaswane stated that they have been made aware of the allegations but they are yet to engage the bank on same. According to Kgaswane for a long time, the union has been having a cordial relationship with the bank and this is their rst encounter of this nature.
SCBB Head of Human Resource, who led the bank’s negotiation team, Kenneth Mbaiwa could not be reached for comment at press time.