IBOA to press ahead with financial sector pay claims
The Irish Bank Officials’ Association (IBOA) is to initiate claims for increases in basic pay of 10% over two years with the four major retail banking groups in the country, it was announced today.
The Union, which represents 15,000 workers in financial services, will also pursue enhanced rewards for members on other sector-specific and company-specific issues.
Speaking after the union’s Executive Committee met to finalise its pay strategy, IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick said that in the light of the breakdown of the new national agreement talks, the committee has decided to press ahead with claims on a new pay round after the previous agreements expired at the end of last month.
“The base-line increase we are seeking is 10% over two years – in order to inflation-proof our members’ basic pay against expected cost-of-living increases of around 5% a year over that period,” said Broderick.
“In addition, we aim to progress other sector-specific issues which may have a significant impact on our members’ earnings – including recognition of professional qualifications, rewards for enhanced productivity, guarantees on job security and measures to enhance work-life balance.
“For example, the minimum competency requirement initiated by the financial regulator has given rise to a situation where bank staff are now required to undergo further training to achieve a new qualification.
“There are issues around the funding of that training and the appropriate level of reward in recognition of achieving the higher qualification. While we have secured a positive outcome to negotiations with one of the banks – National Irish – this matter is still to be addressed by the other three.
“Common to all four banks are issues around the management of change – including the appropriate rewards for productivity improvements and compensation in the event of loss of profit-share – especially in cases where profit-share has formed an integral element in the overall reward package.
“We are also determined to pursue significant improvements in the work-life balance agenda.
“For example, the current provisions for paid maternity leave in the four major banks are some way behind best practice for the private sector. Given that the majority of staff working in retail banking are female, this underprovision represents a serious deficiency which we aim to rectify.
“We will be communicating formally to the banks in the coming week to initiate negotiations on these claims in line with our procedural agreements with these employers.”
