Bank of Ireland strike action deferred
29th September 2009
- Labour Court clarity sought on ruling
- Discussions with ICTU and other bank unions
500 members of the Unite trade union have called off tomorrow’s
(30th September) scheduled strike action at the Bank of
Ireland. Representatives will return to the Labour Court to
seek final clarity on the Labour Court ruling, the non
implementation of which by the Bank of Ireland is at the heart of
this dispute.
“Communication has taken place since we announced the second day
of action with government, the ICTU and other banking unions," said
Unite regional officer, Colm Quinlan, speaking today after a
meeting of staff representatives. “As a result of these the
decision was taken today to allow the Labour Court to consider the
issue the Bank of Ireland claims to have with its ruling in a less
hostile environment.
“We will also be looking at a co-ordinated approach between
other unions so that if the Bank of Ireland continues to ignore the
Labour Court, that further action will be taken to cause maximum
impact.
“Since the outset of this dispute we have sought to reach
agreement with the Bank of Ireland that would grant the same
respect to these 500 employees as has already been granted to
others in the bank. The response has been less than one
expects from an organisation in receipt of such substantial
government funding and this feeling is shared at very high level
inside and outside the banking sector.
“We believe that by turning down the temperature for a brief
period that it will allow the bank to reflect on its position and
come to the right conclusion.”
Tomorrow’s deferred action was to have followed on from a first
one day strike that took place in July. The dispute centres
on the Bank of Ireland’s continued refusal to implement a Labour
Court recommendation issued in June in relation to agreed merit
based payments for the staff involved. The recommendation was
that the bank should pay cost of living and individual performance
pay awards, in line with agreed procedures dating back over many
years and in line with payments already made to most Bank of
Ireland staff.
The staff involved, who work at Bank of Ireland Life and New
Ireland Assurance have already taken a decrease in salary of 12 per
cent this year because of the non payment of company related
performance payments. Most are on salaries of less than
€30,000. Bank of Ireland has already paid increases to the
majority of its staff under the national wage agreement but this
group has operated under a separate agreement since 2001.
ENDS
Further information:
Colm Quinlan – Unite on 087 6299651
Rob Hartnett – Hartnett McClure PR on 086 3851955
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