OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 4.20pm.
AN urgent court application against financial giant Old Mutual over its alleged unfair retrenchments of staff has been filed by the Banking Insurance Finance and Assurance Workers Union.
The union alleges the retrenchments are a direct result of the demutualisation of the company. The court application also comes as Nedcor, in which Old Mutual is a majority shareholder, claims it has union backing of its merger plans with the Standard Bank Investment Corporation (Stanbic). The merger will affect about 10000 jobs.
Bifawu alleges that Old Mutual did not follow proper procedures in retrenching its staff and that it was also not consulted.
“Old Mutual has denied a claim made earlier in the year that demutualisation will finally lead to staff reductions,” Bifawu spokesman David Lebethe said.
Lebethe said in terms of Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, the employer is required to consult representatives from the trade union in order to find ways and means to avoid retrenchments.
Old Mutual is also accused of sidelining staff structures that have been set up for consultation.
“The court application is a sign of the consequences caused by the so-called off-shore investment of big business to overseas countries,” he said.