Union to ballot bank workers

The Unite trade union said today it is to ballot its 600 members working at Bank of Scotland (Ireland) seeking a mandate for industrial action.

The union said the decision to ballot was taken after a further failure on the part of management to provide any clarity on the establishment of a separate company to handle the winding down of the bank’s operations in Ireland.

The bank announced plans to close its local operations by December six weeks ago with the loss of 40 jobs. Remaining staff are to be transferred to an independent service company that will carry out administrative functions relating to BoSI's local business, including maintaining the loan book.

The union says that since there there has been no proposal or confirmation to staff on the working terms and conditions of employment that will be put in place in the new company. Nor has there been any proposal on the resolution of the pension deficit that currently exists.

The ballot will take place on Tuesday, October 12th, the union said.

“The Bank of Scotland management have continually sought to seek a soft ride from public opinion through sugaring its closure announcements with promises and undertakings,” said Unite regional Organiser Brian Gallagher. “They have though continually failed though to put any substance to the promises.”

“This week we asked once again for greater clarity about the future for our members, but once more they sought to pass us off with vague reassurances that things would be OK,” he added.

“This is a bank which may not see a full future in Ireland. It does though have an international reputation to protect. We will be seeking a mandate from our members to bring pressure to bear on this in order to reach a better settlement for workers that built a thriving business here, but who now are being treated with contempt as the prevailing business climate has grown colder.”