Workers in Ulster Bank and First Active who face redundancy have been scapegoated for mismanagement at parent company Royal Bank of Scotland, unions claimed today.
The Irish Bank Officials Association and Siptu said there must be no compulsory redundancies at either bank as a result of restructuring by RBS that will see the loss of 550 jobs in the Republic and 200 in the North.
“Our members feel very strongly that Ulster Bank Group staff are effectively being scapegoated for the mismanagement,” IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick said after a briefing by management this morning.
He hit out at “incompetence and greed of senior management in RBS”.
Mr Broderick said the first item on the agenda for negotiations with management was to establish whether the proposed number of job losses was justified.
“We will be seeking clarification as to the likely impact on the business, on customers and particularly on the staff who will remain with the bank.
The IBOA represents approximately 4,000 staff in Ulster Bank while SIPTU represents 360 workers in First Active branches across the country, including the Dublin Mortgage Centre.
“We are extremely concerned at the proposal to cease First Active operations”, Siptu Branch Organiser Owen Reidy said. “It has been a successful brand with a loyal customer base, in a traditionally profitable organisation.
“Management must be flexible in looking at progressive and imaginative alternatives to redundancies,” added Mr Reidy.