THE push towards digitalisation and automation in Budget 2021 must not come at the expense of workers, said the National Union of Bank Employees (Nube).

Employees do not reject these efforts but these must not only benefit businessmen and corporate players, said Nube secretary-general J. Solomon.

He said workers are wary of such efforts due to past experiences when such changes were made in the banking sector.

“Scores of workers, especially low-wage cadre employees in several banks, including multinational banks, were laid off under the guise of automation and digitalisation.

“Many workers, especially Nube members, lost their jobs, because some irresponsible banks outsourced their functions to overseas and other local companies.”

The push towards digitisation and automation is only good if there is a comprehensive policy to upskill and retrain the workers made redundant, Solomon added.

Job retention should be a priority and the workers made redundant “must have access to upskilling and retraining to keep their jobs and stay relevant to the needs of the sector”.

This must also be observed by other sectors, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which have also been earmarked for the digital push in Budget 2021.

“We sincerely hope, unlike some banks, the stakeholders in the other sectors do not spread fear among employees that their roles will be made redundant by digitalisation,” he said, adding that the government has a duty to ensure this will not happen. – November 7, 2020.