Staff at Permanent TSB may lose up to half the value of their promised pension entitlements because management has ceased contributions to three defined benefit pension schemes, according to the Unite trade union.
Speaking at a union conference in Belfast, PTSB employee Niall Sweeney said that over seven years between 2001 and 2008, management had effectively bankrupted the company.
As a result 700 jobs had been lost, increments had been frozen and allowances cut.
Mr Sweeney said the management decision to stop contributing to the pension funds had forced the scheme trustees to wind them up.
He said that 3,700 members of those schemes would be looking at cuts of up to 50% in their pension benefits.
He said management had attempted to justify their decision on the basis of government demands to reduce payroll costs by between 6% and 10%.
Mr Sweeney also noted that 40% of bank staff earn less than €30,000 a year - and accused the Government of exploiting public anger by insisting that bankers' pay be cut while paying off unsecured bond holders.
He noted that the chief executive would not be affected by the winding up of the pension schemes.
He said that if PTSB succeeded in winding up the schemes, it would set a precedent across the private sector.
Mr Sweeney said the Government could not wash its hands of what was happening in the banks.
Unite delegates backed a motion calling for an immediate concerted campaign with other unions to fight what it called this latest attack on workers' pension.
The motion also called for immediate action in response to the Government's refusal to implement legislation to protect pensions.
A spokesperson for PTSB confirmed that from 1 June the company had ceased contributing to the defined benefit schemes and opened defined contribution schemes.
Such schemes carry more risk for employees.
The spokesman said the current deficit in the schemes was around €350m and could rise to €500m over a ten-year period if it were not addressed.
He said the financial impact of the changes on staff would have to be assessed, and no final figure had yet been confirmed.
A Labour Court recommendation on the issue is awaited.
Sources also warned that if the company did not address the deficit, the shortfall could end up being picked up by the taxpayer.
Unite to seek pay rises in some sectors
Meanwhile, Unite has warned that it will be seeking pay rises in areas where it has strong representation.
Speaking after addressing the conference, Regional Secretary Jimmy Kelly said that the recent wage drift downwards was bad for society, for the economy and workers.
He said Unite believed that what was needed was investment, growth and extra taxation, but that wages and workers’ rights were the starting point.
He said governments in the Republic and Northern Ireland were putting forward cuts in wages as the only way to drive profits and secure jobs.
Mr Kelly said Unite would be backing up pay claims with what he called appropriate action to defend workers’ rights and improve and increase wages.
He also warned that the union was in a period of disengagement from the Labour Party in protest at its role in implementing austerity and anti-worker legislation.
He described recent legislation to impose pay cuts as "the final tipping point" - and said that Unite could not make sense of that for its members.
Unite currently donates between €25,000 and €30,000 a year to the Labour Party, Mr Kelly said, adding that the union’s executive council will consider a temporary suspension of contributions.
He said Unite would not pay for the privilege of not getting what it sought.
Unite represents 30,000 members in the Republic, and 1.5 million members across the UK and Ireland.
