Bank staff told they will have to accept pay freeze
Issued : 27 August 2009
Irish Examiner
Just weeks after Ulster Bank announced that it wants to make 250 staff redundant, it has now told staff that those who remain will have to accept a pay freeze and changes to their pensions.
The Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA), which represents workers at the bank, has sought urgent meetings with its members about what it describes as a unilateral announcement that was neither discussed nor agreed with the union.
The union is particularly angry given that it is in the midst of a mediation process with the bank under the chairmanship of Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey. That is discussing how the 250 redundancies will be achieved, as well as any changes to terms and conditions of staff.
The IBOA said as late as Monday that the bank reiterated its commitment to the mediation, so it was shocked that it then went ahead with the pay and pension proposals.
"We consider that our members in Ulster Bank are once again being scapegoated for the profligate lending policies of senior management in both Ulster Bank and its parent company, RBS," said the finance union's general secretary Larry Broderick.
"The bank's proposal is in breach of our members' contractual rights," he added.
Mr Broderick said the union will consult with its members in Ulster Bank to determine how to respond to the move by the bank and would ask Mr Mulvey toreview all of the issues around pay and pensions at a scheduled meeting on September 2.
Stephen Rogers
