THE UNITE trade union has reached agreement with Bank of Scotland (Ireland) on enhanced redundancy terms for the 750 employees due to lose their jobs at the company’s retail banking arm, Halifax.
BoSI announced last month that, following a review aimed at restructuring its operations here, it would be closing its 44 retail branches here and discontinuing the Halifax (Ireland) brand — a move which would result in 750 redundancies and a near halving in the group’s Irish workforce, with only the business banking arm remaining. While Unite said, at the time, it would "fight to save" the jobs — saying that Halifax could still have a part to play in the so-called "third force" of Irish banking — it yesterday reached agreement on redundancy terms.
Those enhanced terms — as presented to Halifax Ireland workers yesterday — provide for 7.25 weeks pay per year of service, as opposed to the original offer of seven.
In addition, those affected will receive a minimum of 26 weeks pay — regardless of their length of service — and a maximum of 143 weeks pay. Those pay durations are up from the original terms of a minimum of 13 weeks pay and a maximum of 130 weeks. Unite will ballot its members in the bank on the new terms and said the threat of strike action has been removed pending the outcome of the vote.
Unite’s Brian Gallagher said: "We will continue to negotiate with the bank on the terms applying to those of our members who will remain with the bank, on issues surrounding redeployment and on the funding of the... pension scheme. We will also... press Government for action on the third banking force that could yet provide an employment lifeline for our members and a banking lifeline for small business in Ireland."
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, March 17, 2010
