Sunday Times reports that unions representing more than 400 Ithala Bank employees and 257,000 depositors are pleading for an urgent political solution to the crisis engulfing the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) state-backed institution.

Workers have not received their August salaries and depositors have been locked out of their accounts since January — with no clear timeline for relief. Inside Ithala’s offices, the mood is grim and morale is low, with fear of retrenchment growing. Prince Mthalane of the National Education, health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said anxiety among staff was at an all-time high. “Salaries have been paid irregularly. Provident funds, third-party payments, children’s education, and medical aids have not been paid – affecting chronic employees and their families,” he said.

Nehawu is demanding urgent intervention from the National Treasury and is threatening legal action if workers’ rights are not protected. Last week, Ithala CEO Thulani Vilakazi sent a voice message to customers, assuring them their savings were safe – but could not be accessed until litigation was resolved or a formal agreement reached between Ithala, the KZN provincial government, the Treasury, the Prudential Authority (PA), and the Repayment Administrator (RA). Ithala’s exemption from the Banks Act expired in December 2023, triggering a cascade of lawsuits, oversight failures and unfulfilled political promises.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chris Makhaye at Sunday Times (subscriber access only)

Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page