BANK OFFICIALS’ UNION the IBOA has raised concerns about possible outsourcing at AIB. It’s after staff and union officials based at a number of the bank’s offices were briefed on the proposals.
A union spokesperson described proposals to outsource a number if IT operations as “potentially short-sighted” for the business, saying the area was now so integral to banking systems it didn’t make sense to consider moving jobs out of the direct management of the institution.
According to the IBOA: “While we understand that in some areas the process has advanced to the stage of inviting interested parties to submit tenders, no final decisions have been made to proceed other than in the outsourcing of one work area to HCL earlier in the year”.
The union says that, following recommendations from the Labour Court and Labour Relations Commission over the summer, any firm proposals for outsourcing are to be subject to full consultation and negotiation with the IBOA.
“In the event that a proposal for outsourcing is to proceed, the agreement provides that workers in these areas will have the final say on whether they wish to transfer with the outsourced work, seek redeployment within AIB or take voluntary severance.”
While the agreement provides immediate protection, the unions says it remains concerned about “the wider consequences of outsourcing for the economy as a whole,” especially if it leads to “the export of skilled work at a time when the country in general – and the banking sector in particular – is in the middle of a major jobs crisis with Government struggling to meet its job creation targets”.
A spokesperson for the bank said “AIB has previously indicated that as part of its restructuring plan to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, outsourcing of certain functions would be considered in consultation with the IBOA and affected staff”.
The bank has said there will be no compulsory redundancies as part of the move.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say