Bank of Scotland Ireland has withdrawn from talks on a redundancy package for staff being put together as a result of the announcement that the Halifax branch network will be closed.
The UNITE trade union has been advised that the limited discussions, which the bank has undertaken since the closure announcement over three weeks ago, will now cease entirely.
Earlier this week a UNITE ballot of its members seeking a mandate for possible industrial action resulted in an overwhelming 85% vote in support of action.
The ballot of members was spread across those 750 whose jobs are on the line immediately and those whose jobs are so far unaffected.
There was a majority in favour of action in every section of the workforce.
