Bank workers' union to meet Ulster Bank next week

Finance union IBOA said it will meet senior management at Ulster Bank next week to discuss the closure of 20 branches.

It has been claimed that a small number workers were told about in a conference call before Christmas.

Larry Broderick, IBOA general secretary, said while branch closures were on the table since last January, this is the first indication of a specific number.

“We are disappointed that the bank’s management chose to reveal their intentions in a teleconference to a relatively small number of staff, rather than in the course of the ongoing engagement with IBOA on the restructuring programme,” said Mr Broderick.

The union said it hoped next week’s meeting would mark the start of real engagement on the likely implications for customers as well as staff.

“While many staff in Ulster Bank have already expressed an interest in leaving the bank under the terms of the redundancy arrangements agreed with IBOA in the wake of last year’s announcement, a number of practical issues remain to be resolved in terms of the relocation of staff who are remaining with the bank, as well as the transfer of customer accounts to new branches,” he added.

“In view of the premature nature of the communication by the bank, we believe it is important that we achieve clarification on all of these issues as quickly as possible in the interests of both customers and staff.”