Aviva employees threaten strike action

UNION members at Aviva have voted to take industrial action if 950 jobs being axed are threatened before agreement is reached with staff.

Nine out of ten workers with Unite also vowed to walk out if staff were made to relocate without consultations.

The insurance giant announced plans two weeks ago to halve its workforce in Ireland and potentially outsource another 300 posts.

The Unite trade union said workers have not yet been consulted on the reductions or made aware which areas are at risk.

Regional officer Brian Gallagher said: “Unite will serve notice today (Thursday) that any attempt to implement the restructuring announced from London, prior to agreement with Irish staff, will be met by industrial action.”

Aviva Ireland employs 1,770 people in Dublin, Galway and Cork, and has a customer base of 1.3 million. The firm reported operating profit of €1.5 billion for the first half of 2011.

It is expected 770 people at Aviva Ireland will lose their jobs as well as 180 from Aviva Europe, which is also based in Ireland.

Mr Gallagher maintained the Aviva’s reputation has been severely damaged by the company’s behaviour in relation to its workforce.

“The company must now begin the work of repairing that by being open and honest about what changes will be made, and rowing back on the numbers of jobs at risk where a case exists for positions being retained in Ireland,” he continued.

Dermot Browne, chief executive of Aviva Ireland, said that the firm remains committed to engagement with staff and has arranged another meeting with Unite representatives.

“We fully recognise our employees’ concern about the future of our business in Ireland,” he said.

“Changes of this nature take time and we fully understand that this is a worrying time for our people.

“We will also ensure that our high standards of customer service are maintained at all times.”