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UNITE HAS INSTRUCTED its members within EBS Building Society to serve notice of strike if no satisfactory resolution is achieved in talks by this coming Monday.
The union held a meeting yesterday evening to consider further action following the breakdown of talks at the Labour Relations Commission earlier this week.
Following a briefing from union official Colm Quinlan, the meeting passed a motion proposing the action, by an overwhelming majority. Members are now instructed to serve notice of a one-day strike, as a first step in escalated industrial action, on a date to be specified, but to take place no later than 30 September.
The union will engage in talks with management until Monday and if all outstanding issues are not satisfactorily resolved, formal notice of action will be served the following day.
This dispute centres around payment of a so-called 13th month which was a contracual element of annual pay that was discontinued in EBS in 2011. The Labour Court held that this payment comprised a bonus and was therefore prohibited following the incorporation of EBS into AIB. However it held that this prohibition did not apply to the 2011 payment and recommended that the company pay the two weeks still owed for that year, which it has failed to do.
Speaking after the meeting yesterday, Quinlan said that the workforce had displayed what he termed “extraordinary patience” throughout the process which culminated in Monday’s breakdown of talks, and he said members were “astounded that an institution now owned by the state should blatantly disregard a recommendation made by the same state’s supreme body for resolving disputes”.
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A strike? Better hold off on this months mortgage payment so. Wouldn’t want it getting misplaced in the confusion.
All of these legacy entitlements which are based on nothing other than ridiculous custom and practice and not founded on any performance criteria should be wiped out. It’s like the Public Service getting time off to lodge cheques even though their salaries are paid directly into their bank accounts. “Ah but we always got it, Pal”. Joke.
In general I would agree but I was of the impression that the 13th month wasn’t extra money. It was just the salary broken down into 13 instead of 12 payments.
Michael I worked for revenue in 2001. We were paid by cheque.
That’s the point that doesn’t get covered by the media.
It’s salary divided by 13 rather than 12.
It’s not extra money. It’s the option they took to have extra money for Christmas.
Is it everyone in the public service gets time off to cash cheques? Hope you never have to ring 999/112 just to be told “sorry we’ve nothing available for the next hour the lads are cashing their cheques”
No, nobody gets it anymore. Nobody gets bonuses either
They should be thankful they have a job, this is just silly.
These fools clearly don’t realise that the company they work for is not profitable anymore right? It hasn’t been for a few years now.
If this was any other company that hadn’t been bailed out by the government then it would have been closed by now, they’d be out of a job and they’d be on the dole now.
How about EBS make the staff a deal, in order to have the money to pay out to staff they’ll cut X amount of staff to save money and then use this saved money towards the 13th month payment for the remaining staff. Sound good?
It would be unfair for the tax payer to once again fit the bill on this additional payment,
Well said Barry
The “they’re lucky to have jobs” phrase gets me every time
The “be happy you have a job” line is just for morons. You should ensure your statutory and contractual rights are being upheld and you should fight for what you deserve.
Paper pushers didn’t bankrupt this country. They don’t deserve your anger. There’s plenty of money going into banks. If the banks aren’t profitable it is because they are mismanaging their income and paying the top levels too much.
And if they want more income they don’t need to tax poor people like AIB, they need only get up off their arses and start dealing with mortgage holders as individuals. A reduced payment is better than a non payment but one bank won’t even talk to you unless you are a few months in arrears.
Err Keith,
Actually even front line staff are part of the issue here, they upsold mortgages and loans as much as they could to as many people as they could in order to get extra money in their pay cheque.
I remember going in for a loan for the house and the staff member tried their level best to sell me a 20k loan for doing up the house after I bought it, she tried and tried and tried and I almost laughed in her face because I knew and she knew if either myself or wife were out of a job in the morning we’d be fecked.
Its greed on all levels in the banking sector,
They sold mortgages, they didn’t force them on anyone.
Ah sure we’d all be much happier if we all had feic all
Presumably all those pushing the lunatic notion that these people are “lucky to have a job” would be fine if they were the ones being denied contractual entitlements.
Whatever about being lucky to have a job or not, going on strike to demand payment for a thirteenth month is obscene. Let them strike. Then let them wonder why they are laid off in a few months. Thirteenth month? Jesus, even the civil servants haven’t the cojones to pull that one
Yeah absolutely, fair play to them, I support them 100%. Arrogant pigs in management it seems
@barry, get your facts right. The majority of front-line bank staff get the same pay every month irrespective of what they have or haven’t sold.
That’s my money & as a part owner of AIB I think bonuses should be based on performance so none of ye bankers should be getting it. Donate the money to the SVP, couldn’t the bank & the union agree on that?
3 things: Unite doesn’t just represent the bankers at EBS. That’s “our” money. And give it to the Simon Community, SVP hand money out far too frivolously for my liking.
This story is a bit like Hitler’s death squads looking for salary and pension entitlements, 5 years after the war.
EBS conspired in destroying our economy,
sentencing us as a nation to eternal debt slavery
and banishing 10-15% of our population.
There should be no EBS for the last 5 years.
Thus there should be no employees.
Spare a thought for those who have saved your arses.
You’ve had 5 good years out of this gravytrain farce.
5 long years of shuffling around paper, pretending that you are needed.
How long more do you want to squeeze out of us?
Leeches.
Pay the two weeks due and no more…
Where else do people get 13 months wages for 12 months work?
have your say