Finance union travels to Australia to find Broderick successor

The Financial Services Union (FSU) has tapped the Irish head of external affairs at Amnesty International Australia in its search for a successor to the organisation's long-standing general secretary Larry Broderick.

Dermot Ryan (44) will be taking up the position "in the coming weeks" as he returns from Australia, where he had also worked for more than five years as chief of staff of the country's Transport Worker Union, the FSU said.

“The ongoing campaign to ensure dignity at work for all is, I believe, among the most important challenges our economy and society faces,” said Mr Ryan. “I am also very committed to expanding the membership base of the union in the financial services sector to ensure all workers can benefit from membership of the FSU.”

Mr Broderick, who joined the union formerly known as the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) 32 years ago and became general secretary in 2001.

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‘When I came in, Ireland was one of the worst businesses we had’

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25,000 jobs gone

The FSU estimates that banks in Ireland have eliminated 25,000 jobs in a decade of unprecedented restructuring as bailed-out lenders' businesses contracted, overseas-owned lenders such as Bank of Scotland, Danske Bank and ACCBank retreated from the market and Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide imploded.

As Irish lenders and peers globally have focused on outsourcing in the past decade and currently find themselves weighing ventures with financial technology companies, the FSU is targeting fintech firms to attract new members.

“I am proud to have worked with colleagues on a strategic repositioning of our union in recent years as we adapted to unprecedented change in the sector,” said Mr Broderick. “There are now significant opportunities for the union to grow and develop in the years ahead.”