Finance union Sasbo said on Thursday it was calling on its 73,000 members across South Africa to strike on 27 September in protest against the economic crisis in the country and job losses

Sasbo, which started 1916 as the South African Society of Bank Officials and is an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said the protest action was legally protected under section 77 of the Labour Relations Act and would result in a total shutdown of the finance sector.

“We will be calling on our members to down tools … in protest against the contemplated and current job losses in the country but we are in particular expressing our dismay (at) what is happening in the finance sector,” it said in a statement.

“We are worried about the high level of unemployment (29 percent) in our country and the wretched state of our economy. Coupled with this is our concern that the finance sector should have already taken drastic steps to up-skill their workforce in preparation for the future “world of work” and the 4th industrial revolution.”

Sasbo general secretary Joe Kokela said the union would soon communicate the logistics of the protest to its members.

Watch video downloading below as COSATU endorses the strike.