Stop the retrenchments @ Absa

[tec0]

Agreed however, ABSA needs to consider the fact that they are still primarily dependant on South Africans and if this is how they repay South Africans for their loyalty then you just know that South Africans will not take kindly to this.

[Blurock]

So, prevention is better than cure, if you don't employ the people in the first place them you don't need to retrench them then do you.

How can you have a business without employing people? (I am not talking about our home based businesses which is basically just playing around for pocket money).

A lesson from ancient times;
A potter discovers clay and starts making beautiful, functional pots. By not employing people, he has to stop working to go dig for the clay. He then has to make the pot, stop work to fire the kiln and then bake the clay pots. He's lucky if he makes one pot per day.

By employing people, he can now work on new designs and show his staff how to make the pots. Some staff will be allocated to finding clay and others to fire the kiln or deliver pots to his customers. The multiplier effect provides him with enough pots to trade for livestock, skins and building materials. His workers also benefit as they share in the prosperity created.

Being a master of his art, the potter will eventually dabble into objets d'art and make even more money. He will have time to do this as he has staff taking care of the mundane work which frees him up to use his brain.

[Petrichor]

The sad reality is that ABSA will not realise any long term benefits through these retrenchments. Sure, they will have some cost savings in terms of salary costs in the short term, but the impact on productivity and staff morale will have a profound impact on their business as a whole, not even mentioning the damage it does to their brand and client perception. It's a lose-lose situation if you ask me.

[Blurock]

Absa used to be a proud South African institution with friendly, competent staff. It has won many accolades for best bank, best place to work etc.

The rot started when Nallie Bosman left. Nallie started as a teller and eventually became CEO. He understood the pressure on staff and introduced many morale boosting incentives which had a positive impact on productivity. After he left the staff profit share incentive was first to go. (this incentive went down to the lowest levels, including cleaning staff).

When Barclays took over, morale dropped and gained momentum. Barclays is totally different and un-South African.

[tec0]

Sadly this is a window into our future. Fact is people cannot work there way up anymore. And again labour brokers are partly responsible for that as well. No permanent employees means no promotions or any advancement of any kind ever again.

ABSA became a clear example of this fact. They don't use labour brokers yet but I can see this happening as they can scale up and scale down at leisure and we will suffer for it. So one gets harsh and bitter but can you really blame anyone for the frustration?

The answer is no, you cannot blame people to fight for permanent work and the need for labour laws. Without it profit at ALL cost will get an old meaning back. An example is a man a mile philosophy whereby there will be a fatality at every single mile.

[Citizen X]

I actually feel very strongly about the ABSA retrenchments a close relative of mine works for ABSA and has to contend with this constant fear of being retrenched. I can attest to the fact that she has several university degrees and numerous years corporate experience and I sincerely hope that she will not be affected by this. It's a tough one, who gets to be given a place on the life boat while the Titanic is sinking? I'm sure all ABSA staff have valid reasons for not being retrenched! There were many reasons why I decided to study further and one of them was job security, I want to be in a field where I can earn my own income and not live in fear of retrenchment...

[adrianh]

To be serious for a moment, it is terrible that big organizations are able to dump large numbers of people at will. Many people buy into the one company for life ideal only to find that at 45 they are retrenched and unemployable because all their knowledge is vested in a single companies systems.

[Just Gone]

Sadly this is a window into our future. Fact is people cannot work there way up anymore. And again labour brokers are partly responsible for that as well. No permanent employees means no promotions or any advancement of any kind ever again.

ABSA became a clear example of this fact. They don't use labour brokers yet but I can see this happening as they can scale up and scale down at leisure and we will suffer for it. So one gets harsh and bitter but can you really blame anyone for the frustration?

Sorry but how are labout brokers "partly" responsible for retrenchements and why no promotions if you are working thro a labour broker ?? what utter crap ! Labour brokers staff get promoted all the time - I know of labour broker staff having worked for companies up to 10 years !!!

[Citizen X]

It actually heart wrenching that a retrenchment can unravel your entire life for the worst! I don't think it will affect young single educated individuals as much as it would affect married persons with kids...

[Citizen X]

I just watched the video in Blurocks first post! The one gentleman explains how empty boxes were already placed in the corridors and you were simply called in, told it was your time to go and perhaps more insulting they even helped you pack your box! This gentleman explains how he was escorted to his desk like a criminal i.e. maybe you'll steal something on your way out! So, yes, I've sent my letter of support and I think that Solidarity is doing a great job!

[tec0]

Sorry but how are labout brokers "partly" responsible for retrenchements and why no promotions if you are working thro a labour broker ?? what utter crap ! Labour brokers staff get promoted all the time - I know of labour broker staff having worked for companies up to 10 years !!!

I was trying to avoid this bickering but in truth no company can promote a person if they are not directly employed. Yes you can give them different responsibilities and a bit more money but as you yourself have pointed out if for any reason whatsoever that person can just as easily lose everything. So in reality it is not what you claim it to be.

Secondly let us look at the larger picture. Correct me if I am wrong but if an employee works for a labour broker they receive a payslip every month as this is good practice. Now with this payslip these individuals can go and make a loan at the bank because they have proof of employment and so on.

Now "IF" this person gives someone some trouble about something and they get replaced. That person is effectively not earning any more money and thanks to a bad name created by the parties responsible they may not get work for some time.

The loan itself becomes a direct loss to the bank. So the more times this happen the more bad investments for the bank and presto retrenchment closing of branches and all the bad stuff that goes with it.

If you still think this is utter nonsense then we agree to disagree. You have your reasons I have my own.

[tec0]

I just watched the video in Blurocks first post! The one gentleman explains how empty boxes were already placed in the corridors and you were simply called in, told it was your time to go and perhaps more insulting they even helped you pack your box! This gentleman explains how he was escorted to his desk like a criminal i.e. maybe you'll steal something on your way out! So, yes, I've sent my letter of support and I think that Solidarity is doing a great job!

Fear not ABSA will lose a lot of customers very soon I hope a lot of people will be moving there accounts very soon.

[adrianh]

I can't see ABSA losing lots of customers over this, it's become a way of life, companies grow and companies shrink. It's in the media because of the involvement of the unions. I worked for a large fruit exporter a couple of years ago that merged with another. People were retrenched every year for 3 years straight as duplicate functions within the merged company were streamlined. I worked with a large financial group in Namibia who effectively outsourced their IT infrastucture by creating an IT company and combining the IT infrastructures from the various companies into one...a lot of blood flowed as people scattered. I think that ABSA would spin it by saying that they either have to streamline their operations and lower their internal costs or the customer would simply have to pay more for their services. Of course, they would say that they need to remain competitive therefore they can't increase their fees...

[Dave A]

I was kinda wondering...

There's a bit of a process that has to be followed before a retrenchment (and no doubt was in this case). What suggestions were put forward in that consultation process?

Let's say the goal was to cut staffing costs by 10% for example. Would the staff have proposed or accepted a 10% pay cut instead of the retrenchments?

[Blurock]

Let's say the goal was to cut staffing costs by 10% for example. Would the staff have proposed or accepted a 10% pay cut instead of the retrenchments?

a 10% cut in the CEO's pay would save them R2,070,000 p.a. Same contribution could be made by the rest of the executive.

I am sure that other measures could have been taken, but as far as I know, no negotiations were made with staff. What hurts them however, is the way that the retrenched people are being marched out of the building by security staff.