IRISH LIFE TO CREATE 150 NEW JOBS NEXT YEAR - Irish Life expects to create 150 new jobs in Ireland next year as part of a five-year growth strategy approved recently by its Canadian parent group Great-West Lifeco.
Speaking to the Irish Times yesterday, the life and pensions group’s chief executive Bill Kyle said the new roles would result from the continued growth of its defined contribution pensions activities, the expansion of Irish Life Investment Managers and Setanta Asset Management, and growth in its retail business, including its bancassurance arrangements with AIB, Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank. It follows strong trading for the company since its acquisition by Great-West Lifeco from the State in 2013 for €1.3 billion and the completion of the integration this year of the Canada Life business here with Irish Life. “2015 has been a very good year for us yet again,” Mr Kyle said. “We have seen very solid growth in sales across all of our businesses.” He said after completing the integration of Irish Life and Canada Life this year the company began working on a strategic plan. “It provides a really clear roadmap of where the market is likely to move.” Irish Life already employs 2,300 in Ireland, while an additional 500 connected with various arms of its parent company’s European operations are also based at its campus on Lower Abbey Street in Dublin.
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ROW OVER 'SECRET' BONUSES TO CENTRAL BANK STAFF - A select number of managers in the Central Bank are being paid secret bonuses, it has emerged.
The main trade union for Central Bank staff is taking legal advice over the confidential payments of more than €20,000. Unite says the payments breach emergency laws cutting pay and banning bonuses in the public sector. Those getting the bonuses have to sign a contract promising to keep "the fact and the amount of the payment confidential", the union said quoting from a copy of contracts it obtained. The latest storm comes after the Central Bank hiked the levy on banks, insurance companies and brokers to plug a hole in its staff pension fund. The bonus payments are being described as "retention" pay to certain senior staff to stop them leaving, according to a letter sent to the Central Bank by the union, and seen by the Irish Independent. Unite's regional officer Colm Quinlan wrote: "Following the pay cuts suffered by our members, they will be appalled that the Bank has engaged in these actions without their knowledge." The letter outlines that the bonuses are based on 20% of gross salary, with a number of executives getting in excess of €20,000.
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EDDIE ROCKET'S PROFIT DROPS AS DIRECTORS' REPORT PUTS FOCUS ON COST CONTROL - The slump came in spite of gross profits at Eddie Rocket’s (Ireland) Ltd increasing by 10% from €8.27m to €9.13m in the 12 months to the end of December last.
Company founder and owner, Niall Fortune opened the first Eddie Rocket’s in Dublin 26 years ago and, according to the directors’ report section of the latest annual accounts, “the trading results for the year and the financial position at year end were considered satisfactory by the directors”. The group sells two million hamburgers and 1,000 tonnes of french fries each year with chicken tenders, the classic hamburger and milkshakes being the most popular items on the menu. The firm currently operates 35 diners, 25 of which are run by franchisees and 10 directly operated by the company. Mr Fortune has announced his intention to grow the Eddie Rocket’s brand into continental Europe as part of a planned expansion of the firm. The firm recorded a pre-tax loss of €446,193 in 2014, arising from a €1m write-down in property value. Numbers employed at the firm last year increased from 172 to 194 with staff costs increasing from €4.45m to €4.9m. Remuneration for directors last year decreased from €688,174 to €528,098. The directors’ report states the future success of the company is based on its ability to win new and retain existing customers whilst maintaining expenditure in line with sustainable revenue streams”.
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GENDER GAP PROGRESS STALLING, WARNS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM - Women now earn what men did a decade ago, according to the World Economic Forum, underlining the sluggish global progress made in bridging the gender divide over the past 10 years.
In its latest Global Gender Gap Report, the think-tank says that the gap in health, education, economic opportunity and politics around the world has closed by only 4% in the past decade, whilst the economic gap has narrowed by just 3%, suggesting it will take another 118 years to achieve equality. “Progress towards wage equality and labour force parity has stalled markedly since 2009/2010,” the report says. On key measures, the gender gap has widened since 2006. In education, the gap between women and men’s literacy rate and educational attainment worsened in nearly a quarter of the 145 countries surveyed over the past 10 years, says the Financial Times. While in 97 countries more women than men are enrolling in university, women make up the majority of skilled workers in only 68 countries and the majority of leaders - legislators, senior officials and managers - in only four. “Women hold the majority of senior roles in only a handful of countries,” said Saadia Zahidi, head of the global challenge on gender parity at WEF, which works with corporates such as Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Bloomberg, Renault-Nissan and SABMiller on the issue. “Companies and governments need to implement new policies to prevent this continued loss of talent and instead leverage it for boosting growth and competitiveness.”
