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South African Court Blocks Biggest Bank Strike Since 1920

  • Labor court ruling may affect nationwide strike on Oct. 7
  • Cosatu, Sasbo plan to appeal judgment interdicting strike
The headquarters of Standard Bank Group Ltd. in Johannesburg.

The headquarters of Standard Bank Group Ltd. in Johannesburg.

Photographer: Dean Hutton/Bloomberg

Updated on

South African bank workers were blocked from participating in what would have been the industry’s biggest strike in almost a century as labor unions protest against job losses.

Unions failed to comply with rules allowing demonstrations and those who down tools will have no protection, Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker said in her ruling in the Johannesburg-based Labour Court on Thursday. The Congress of South African Trade Unions, the nation’s largest labor federation, and its affiliate, the South African Society of Bank Officials, said they will appeal the ruling.