IBOA wants financial services summit

FINANCE union IBOA has called on Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan to hold an emergency summit meeting to address what it describes as the emerging jobs crisis in the financial services sector.

The union’s general secretary, Larry Broderick, wants Ms Coughlan to convene a round-table meeting of the major stakeholders in the financial sector, including management and unions.

“Simply as a result of non-replacement of staff and the non-renewal of temporary contracts over the last sixteen months, we estimate that at least 4,000 jobs have been lost in financial services in Ireland,” he said.

“Add to that the 1,000 redundancies announced in Ulster Bank last year, the 150 job losses announced in National Irish Bank just before Christmas and the further 750 redundancies sought by Halifax this week, we are looking at around 6,000 job losses.

“Of course, that’s before the restructuring and consolidation of the Irish institutions which is expected to take place over the coming months in tandem with the transfer of toxic assets to NAMA.”

Mr Broderick said he had warned last year that up to 10,000 jobs could be at risk in the Irish financial services sector as a result of the current crisis.

“I have seen no evidence in the meantime to suggest that this estimate is unrealistic,” he said.

“Hardly any of those who have lost their jobs were actually responsible for the crisis: the industry leaders who presided over the collapse have largely escaped unscathed, while the few senior executives who have moved on have been generously rewarded for their troubles.”

He said the concern now must be the protection of jobs.

“In particular our members are concerned that ad-hoc short-term decisions may be taken on the basis of expediency – without regard for the broader context – with the result that long-term damage would be inflicted on the financial services sector,” he said.

“We need to be reassured that any further reconfiguration of the financial services sector is properly co-ordinated with broad agreement in advance on the final shape of the industry – rather than arriving at unintended outcomes which not only have negative consequences for the institutions, themselves, but also for the economy as a whole.”