Tough talking is a way of life for Brian

Unite’s Brian Gallagher was handed a poisoned chalice when negotiating job cuts with Aviva, but the union official scored a victory by cutting the number of redundancies and securing 220 jobs for Galway, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

IT HAS been a strange week at Aviva Ireland.

The boss of the UK parent, Andrew Moss, walks the plank following a shareholder revolt. Around 60% voted against a proposal to hike the CEO’s basic salary above the £1m (€1.25m) mark — this following a one-third fall in the Aviva share price.