BoI workers to stage picket tomorrow

Disgruntled Bank of Ireland workers will picket head office tomorrow in a row regarding performance bonuses for lower paid staff.

About 500 employees from the life and pensions divisions, which lost €31m in the year to March, have demanded the payments after a Labour Court ruling.

The Unite trade union today said it has written to Finance Minister Brian Lenihan claiming the taxpayer has pumped €3.5bn into the institution yet management refuse to sign off on payments.

Strike notice was served last week and union chiefs claimed bank bosses made no effort to resolve the dispute since then.

The union’s regional officer Colm Quinlan accused the bank of ignoring the Labour Court ruling securing the pay deal.

“This is completely unacceptable given that the state, which is supporting the Bank with €3.5bn of taxpayer funding has a clear process for dispute resolution and this is being wilfully ignored by Bank of Ireland,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the bank said: “We are very disappointed that they have voted for industrial action tomorrow.

“We are there to engage with the unions at any time. We are always available to the unions.”

Unite claimed the refusal to pay bonuses to lower paid staff effectively forced a 12% pay cut. The union also said most of the workers are on salaries of less than 30,000 euro.

The bank, however, insisted no bonuses have been paid this year and added that it was not in the interests of the business to offer them. The Bank of Ireland made losses of €7m in the year to March, a first in the institution's history.

Pickets will be placed on Bank of Ireland head office on Baggot Street and the offices of New Ireland Assurance on Dawson Street all day tomorrow.

Other Bank of Ireland staff have not been asked to honour the picket but the union warned the row will escalate if the bank makes no approach after the strike.