SARS issues warning ahead of banking strike

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) issued a statement on Monday, warning taxpayers to take precautions for the banking sector strike confirmed for Friday 27 September 2019, Rekord East reports.

This comes after the South African Society of Bank Officials (Sasbo) union confirmed that the “total shutdown will continue as scheduled”.

“Taxpayers are encouraged to submit their payments and any tax transactions that may result in a payment to SARS two business days in advance,” said the statement by SARS,

Sasbo said Absa, Nedbank and Standard Bank are the financial institutions which have announced possible retrenchments and will thus be affected by the strike.

The strike has been confirmed for 27 September 2019.

Some has predicted that up to 73 000 finance sector employees will be participating and it was rumoured on social media that the strike would also affect ATMs.

Nedbank media spokesperson Kedibone Molopyane said that Nedbank does not anticipate major disruptions to their operations during the strike, though some branches may have limited staff on the day.

Though Sasbo has warned of possible intimidation and vandalism at proposed strike locations (which are Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town), Molopyane said Nedbank has “contingency measures in place to ensure the safety of our employees and clients at all our branches”.

Sasbo warned banking customers to have enough cash at hand on Friday for the planned shutdown; while Nedbank said customers can use ATMs and digital banking for optimal service delivery on strike day.

Other banks mentioned had not replied at the time of going to print.