According to Nilsa Machel, SNEB’s Secretary for Organisation and Training, quoted by the daily ‘Notícias’, the growing outsourcing of services in the national banking sector is being seen as a threat to the security of sensitive customer data and to the stability of the jobs of the system’s workers.
The concern was raised at the ordinary session of the National Union of Bank Employees (SNEB), held on Saturday 5 October in Maputo.
SNEB believes that outsourcing not only makes bank workers’ jobs more precarious, but also jeopardises banking secrecy, a fundamental principle of the sector.
‘When we outsource banking functions, there are regulations and training that bank employees are obliged to comply with, but outsourced employees don’t,’ he said.
The professionals warn that the situation represents an imminent danger to the security of customer data, because outsourced workers are not obliged to fulfil the same confidentiality and compliance standards.
Another critical point pointed out by the union is the inequality in labour conditions. While permanent employees have guaranteed salaries and benefits, workers hired by external companies have the least favourable conditions, leading to precarious working conditions for workers hired by external service providers.
‘Bank employees have a fixed pay date, while outsourced workers are at the mercy of their bosses, often receiving their pay with considerable delays, creating conditions for low satisfaction, which is often notorious,’ Machel denounced.
The union official also mentioned the growing replacement of bank employees with long-term contracts by outsourced workers, who are hired at lower costs and without the same rights and benefits.
This practice, according to the union, is fuelling the precariousness of employment, particularly among young people who are made redundant or find themselves in unstable working conditions.
As a way of responding to these concerns, the union has been in dialogue with the bank administrations and the Bank of Mozambique, but the responses so far have not been encouraging.
‘The Central Bank told us that this is a practice that will continue, because they themselves adopt it,’ explained Machel, referring to the effect this model will have on commercial banking, which tends to follow the regulator’s example.
Notícias