UNI-Africa Finance Committee Meeting
Johannesburg, 19 October 2003
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UNI-Africa Finance identifies key issues - 19.10.2003

Creation of regional works councils, outsourcing through subsidiaries and the increasing use of technology in the banking industry are some of the key issues the UNI-Africa Finance sector will be focusing on.
The 2nd UNI-Africa Finance sector meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa on 19 October 2003, resolved that the sector should identify multinational banking institutions operating in Africa and target some of them for the creation of regional works councils and possibly the signing of framework agreements. UNI finance affiliate in South Africa, SASBO, was identified as crucial in this process considering that major South African banks are spreading their operations across Africa.
It was noted that outsourcing through subsidiaries was fostering casual employment in the finance industry hence the need for unions to develop strategies to change this situation. The meeting also resolved that there was urgent need to organise the Professional and Managerial Staff, women and the youth in the finance industry where the use of technology is on the rise.
Other priority areas identified were: privatisation of the finance industry, education and training; the need for communication through the internet; and making HIV/AIDs a priority in the finance sector.
Regional Secretary Fackson Shamenda officially opened the meeting describing the Finance sector as the second largest after the Commerce sector.
Twenty-four participants from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe attended the meeting.
The meeting elected Joe Kokela of SASBO, South Africa and Jellali Abdelhamid of FGBEF, Tunisia as UNI-Africa Finance steering committee members. The sector is yet to establish a regional structure after holding a Regional Finance conference.
Head of the UNI Finance Department Oliver Roethig updated the participants on the achievements recorded by the Finance sector and outlined the future priorities as:

The meeting was coordinated by John Musonda from the UNI-Africa Regional office and Zakari Koudougou, UNI Project Manager.