Bank of Ireland customers may be hit by 24-hour stoppage next month

STRIKE THREAT:BANK OF Ireland customers are facing possible disruption to services next month as a result of industrial action over the implementation of a stock-issue scheme.

Some 6,000 members of the finance union IBOA are to hold a 24-hour strike on July 8th.

The union Siptu, which represents about 140 staff, is to decide today on the nature of the industrial action it will take.

The union Unite, which has about 500 members at Bank of Ireland, is also holding a ballot on industrial action, up to and including full strike action, as a result of the row over the stock-issue scheme. The results will be known next week.

The IBOA said yesterday its members had voted for limited industrial action by 92 per cent to 8 per cent in protest at the decision by the bank's senior management to cut the amount paid to staff in a bonus under the stock-issue scheme.

The 24-hour stoppage planned by IBOA members is being scheduled for July 8th to coincide with the annual general meeting of Bank of Ireland.

The bank condemned the threat of the one-day strike as completely unwarranted, and against the interests of its staff and customers.

IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick said that, as part of a productivity deal agreed in 2005, staff were to receive up to 6 per cent of salary in stock and a reduction of the working week, in return for co-operation with major change.

Staff had agreed a voluntary severance scheme involving 2,100 job losses, branch closures and relocations.

He said this programme had reached its targets, and had generated savings of over €145 million per year for the bank.

Mr Broderick said earlier this year the bank decided to cut the bonuses for staff to 3 per cent rather than 6 per cent in stock.

However, Bank of Ireland said the amount paid out under the scheme was based on real growth in underlying earnings per share as well as cost-savings achieved under its transformation programme.

It said underlying earnings per share for Bank of Ireland Group for the year to end March was 4 per cent, while inflation was 5 per cent.

The bank said it was irresponsible to contemplate industrial action now given the difficult business environment. The 3 per cent award of shares, at a cost of over €20 million, was "fair and equitable" for all stakeholders, and consistent with the agreement on the transformation plan.