Irish Life pay row sparks membership applications 'influx' says union chiefs

Trade union chiefs have accused management at Irish Life of escalating a dispute over pay rises.

As workers in Dublin and Dundalk “swiped out” for two hours for the third time, Unite leaders said there had been an “influx” of membership applications from workers, reflecting growing anxiety over the row.

The union’s regional officer Maeve Brehony called on Irish Life to agree to go to the Labour Court in an attempt to strike a deal.

“Irish Life has effectively ditched decades of consultation by seeking to unilaterally impose an inferior and insecure pay model while refusing to attend the Labour Court in respect of all its employees,” she said.

“The overwhelming vote for industrial action earlier this year was an indication of our members’ frustration at Irish Life’s decision to ditch decades of consultation and negotiation, and instead unilaterally impose an inferior pay model which breaks the link between pay and profits, and between pay and inflation.”

Unite, which represents 1,189 workers in Irish Life, up from about 1,100 at the start of the walk-outs, said management had the means to resolve the dispute.

“They simply need to give an unequivocal assurance that they will attend the Labour Court in respect of all 1,189 Unite members, and negotiate rather than dictate the future pay structure,” she said.

The row centres on a new pay model which the union claims breaks the link between salaries and profits and inflation and means staff would not know from one year to the next whether they could expect a rise.

Workers voted 92% in favour of industrial action earlier this year and the union accused management of failing to engage with them over the dispute.

Irish Life, owned by Great-West Lifeco, said its final offer on pay had not been put to workers by the union.

It included pay rises of 2-15%, linked to performance, for lower paid clerical staff; an increase in bonus ranges, up to 8% of salary, for clerical staff; and 2% pay rises on salaries up to 56,500 euro this year and next for staff who did not wish to move to the new salary structure.