LRC hosts talks on planned BoI strike

The Irish Bank Officials Association and the Bank of Ireland have begun talks at the Labour Relations Commission in an effort to avert a planned strike by the bank's computer staff this Friday.

Around 300 workers in Bank of Ireland's ITSIS subsidiary are planning to go on strike over the bank's plans to "outsource" their jobs to the US computer giant Hewlett-Packard.

The bank has signed a seven-year contract with Hewlett-Packard, but the US multinational has only given the workers job guarantees for two years.

The ITSIS staff rejected a fresh proposal submitted by the bank last week and both sides were subsequently invited to talks at the LRC.