A UNION REPRESENTING hundreds of workers at the liquidated Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) has warned of “further serious action” that could be taken by staff at the bank amid an ongoing dispute over redundancy terms.
The Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) has already told members, which make up as many as 300 out of the 800 staff at the former Anglo Irish Bank, not to cooperate with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) or Capita who are responsible for the transfer of assets out of the liquidated bank.
Having met with the liquidator, KPMG, today IBOA told its members in an update issued this afternoon that there had been a “frank and open discussion” but said that the liquidator does not have a mandate to sign-off on any improved redundancy terms.
Prior to liquidation in February, staff at IBRC had been entitled to four weeks’ pay per year of service but this has now been replaced by statutory redundancy of two weeks’ pay per year of service, effectively halving redundancy packages for many workers.
In its communication to members, IBOA said that the liquidator had acknowledged “how key staff are to the successful liquidation process” but emphasised that he had no mandate from the Minister for Finance to sign-off on any solution to the dispute.
In an update to members seen by TheJournal.ie, General Secretary of the IBOA Larry Broderick said: “It is becoming clear that further serious action will be required by staff in IBRC if a satisfactory solution is to be agreed by the Minister.
“Your Committee will meet over the next number of days to discuss how we might escalate action to increase leverage.”
Broderick also said that it was “imperative” that staff do not cooperate with NAMA or Capita, which has been hired by the agency to handle over €40 billion of loans that had up to now been managed by IBRC.
“Cooperating with NAMA or Capita is essentially working yourself out of a job,” Borderick said, adding that no meetings should take place with NAMA or Capita, no information should be shared with them and no technology should be transferred to them.
He added: “It is now absolutely clear that pressure must be brought to bear on the Minister for a solution be agreed.”
Broderick said that NAMA and Capita had agreed to meet with the union to discuss the transfer of loans to NAMA but added: “IBOA has identified that any transfer must be subject to all issues being resolved, including jobs, terms and conditions as well as the resolution to redundancy payments.”
Contracts for many staff at IBRC have been extended to the beginning of August as the liquidation process continues. After that staff will be on monthly rolling contracts.
Noonan has previously said many staff will be re-employed by NAMA or other bodies which take over IBRC’s loanbook.
Days after the liquidation of the bank as part of a move to abolish the €31 billion in promissory note payments, Noonan admitted that the process was ‘crude’ for staff but insisted they were in a better position than most.
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