Union fears for thousands of bank jobs as sector faces shake-up

BANK workers’ union IBOA has said it is fearful for the future of thousands of jobs under plans to restructure the finance sector.

IBOA, which has 22,000 members, has sought an urgent meeting with both the Government and the IMF/EU team to discuss how the restructuring would work.

“While bank officials have always recognised that some consolidation was inevitable within the banking sector, our members have become increasingly alarmed in recent days as speculation about the possible scale of this restructuring has intensified,” said IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick. “It is important, therefore, that clarity is provided as soon as possible on the extent and nature of this reconfiguration for the sake of staff and, indeed, for the sake of customers.”

He admitted protecting the maximum number of banking jobs was the IBOA priority.

“In particular, we will be urging the authorities to resist the temptation to cut costs by implementing further staff cuts,” he said. “Any short-term gains from such an approach are likely to be more than offset by the loss of experience and skill at a crucial time for the sector and by the negative impact on the economy of lost tax revenue, increased welfare costs and reduced consumer spending.”

He said 6,000 banking jobs had been lost within the sector since the crisis began in 2008.

“With many more already scheduled to go in the next 12 months, ordinary bank officials are continuing to pay a significant price for the wide-scale mismanagement of this industry while those who actually made those decisions have generally enjoyed a soft landing courtesy of golden parachutes.”

Mr Broderick said if the major restructuring was to be effective, it was vital it secured the fullest possible buy-in from the staff who will be required to deliver it.

“This requires proper engagement based on meaningful consultation, negotiation and agreement,” he said.