Banking unions are to meet with the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore next week to discuss the future of the sector.
Larry Broderick, general secretary of the Irish Bank Officials Association, said he was eager to discuss concerns over potential job losses in the State's banks following the announcement of a radical restructuring plan.
The discussions come after an announcement by AIB this week that it is seeking to shed some 2,000 staff, which the IBOA accused the Government of being silent over.
Mr Broderick said the union would not be willing to co-operate with the restructuring plans unless the redundancies were voluntary.
The IBOA met AIB executive chairman David Hodgkinson on Thursday to discuss the announcement. It said the discussions were constructive and that the bank appeared committed to engaging with the union once its plans were further clarified.
Mr Broderick said the union was also seeking clarity over the future of staff in Irish Life and Permanent, which is expected to be broken up as part of the restructuring.
He also said that EBS, which is to be merged into AIB, could be retained as a viable entity.
"Staff numbers should not be the sole focus of the restructuring," Mr Broderick said. "There also needs to be a change of culture in the sector."
