IBOA The Finance Union is to consider the mediator’s recommendation on AIB job losses of up to 2,500 staff. However, the IBOA is seeking an urgent meeting with senior management to discuss its plans for the future.
It has noted the recommendation for voluntary severance and early retirement of up to 2,500 more staff in AIB proposed by the independent mediator, Mr. Kevin Foley.
Speaking from the Union’s conference in the Clayton Hotel, Galway, IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick said that the Mediator’s recommendation recognises that any job losses in AIB should be implemented on a voluntary basis.
The severance terms proposed for the Republic of Ireland provide for four weeks’ pay per year of service including statutory entitlement, or three weeks’ pay per year of service plus statutory entitlement, subject to a payment cap of two years’ annual salary, including all pensionable elements, or €225,000, whichever is the lesser.
The terms will be available to staff with a minimum of five years’ continuous service. A minimum payment, (inclusive of statutory entitlement) of €10,000 will apply to staff availing of voluntary severance.
The mediator has also recommended that the Bank should make provision for outplacement and retraining services for departing staff - about which the parties should engage further in the coming weeks.
An enhanced voluntary early retirement arrangement will also be available for staff aged 50 and over on a pro rata actuarially reduced basis.
The IBOA says in a statement, "The mediator’s recommendation provides a template for change in AIB. But this is only half the story. We are unable to offer a full assessment of its implications for our members in AIB because the Bank has yet to share its plans for the future with us in any real detail," said the IBOA leader.
The IBOA says this is absolutely essential to enable staff to make a fully informed assessment about what is potentially a life-changing decision for each employee.
In the last week, Ulster Bank confirmed its intention to cut 950 more jobs, Bank of Ireland outlined plans for its redundancy programme, while the company has not said how many people will leave the bank, it is speculated it may result in more than 1,000 staff opting to leave.
AIB is moving ahead with plans for 2,500 job cuts and Danske Bank announcing plans to restructure both the National Irish and Northern Banks.
