Minister had no warning of job cuts

ULSTER BANK LAYOFFS:TÁNAISTE AND Minister for Trade Eamon Gilmore yesterday said he had no advance knowledge Ulster Bank intended to cut 950 jobs from its Irish operations, but insisted getting people back into employment would remain the Government's priority.

Mr Gilmore was speaking in Vienna during a visit to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. “I wasn’t aware that it was going to happen,” he said, in reference to the lay-offs.

“My first thoughts are with the people who are losing their jobs. I am a former trade union official, I know what it’s like. I have sat in workplace canteens with people losing their jobs, so I know the feelings and the fears that people are going through,” Mr Gilmore said.

“It comes back to this Government’s priority of trying to get people back into employment. This month . . . both [Minister for Social Protection] Joan Burton and [Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation] Richard Bruton will be announcing additional Government steps to address the jobs crisis and provide training and education to bridge people from one job to the next.”

Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn told the Dáil he had “every confidence” in the ability of the trade union representing Ulster Bank workers, the Irish Bank Officials’ Association, to negotiate their redundancy packages.

He confirmed the Government would help the union in negotiations if required, although there had been no requests for such assistance. “If there are difficulties which are beyond the capacity of the social partners to sort out themselves then the Government will assist,” Mr Quinn said.

He also said the Government would soon be launching a “Pathways to Work” programme, which would assess unemployed workers’ skills and suggest “how they might upgrade or divert sideways” to enhance their job opportunities.

Fianna Fáil’s deputy leader Éamon Ó Cuív expressed particular concern for retail sector workers in Ulster Bank, such as cashiers, who might not have sought after IT skills. “The whole question of retraining and upskilling becomes absolutely crucial to their job prospects,” Mr Ó Cuív said.

The deputy leader of Sinn Féin, Mary-Lou McDonald, claimed unemployment had “continued to soar” under the watch of the Coalition, as the anniversary of its entering office approached.

“There are stubbornly high levels of people out of work and there has been minimal investment by the Government in respect of job creation and protection,” Ms McDonald said.