Union agrees enhanced Halifax lay-off terms

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.