Staff at AIB’s telecoms unit agree deal on outsourcing to Eircom

Some 40 AIB staff could transfer to Eircom after accepting arrangements to outsource

their roles at the bank’s IT operation.

In January, AIB announced plans to outsource 170 staff in its IT division. This involves outsourcing three elements of its IT services – telecoms, operations security, and hosting and storage – to Eircom, Integrity and Wipro.

Eircom is due to provide telecoms services to AIB, which is 99.8 per cent owned by the State, for five years. According to the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA), workers opting to move to Eircom will retain their current pay and conditions in line with regulations on the transfer of undertakings and protection of employment (TUPE).

Staff transferring to Eircom would perform roles “broadly similar” to their current positions, although these may change over time, the IBOA said.

It said that while pension benefits are not covered by the TUPE regulations, Eircom has agreed to honour the terms of the 2013 Labour Court recommendation on pensions in AIB. Staff who choose not to move will have the option of either redeployment within AIB or voluntary severance.