BoI staff postpone strike action

Bank of Ireland staff today postponed one-day strike action pending talks at the Labour Relations Commission.

Bank of Ireland workers - represented by Amicus trade union - are in dispute with management over the company's new pension plan

Workers - represented by Amicus trade union - are in dispute with management over the company's new pension plan.

Amicus said the strike action - scheduled to take place in the Irish Financial Services Centre today - has been deferred by seven days following an intervention by the Labour Court.

Union officials were to meet with the Labour Relations Commission for exploratory talks today.

The bank says the new pension scheme is a hybrid of defined benefit and defined contribution pension models.

Amicus Regional Officer Colm Quinlan said the union has always been prepared to talk to management about the pensions issue.

"The question of long term pension security is presently the most important area of employer relations," he said. "Amicus has struck acceptable agreements with EBS Building Society and Allianz in the last fortnight and these provide a possible alternative for the bank to consider.

"We remain open to dialogue, and as a gesture on our part, we have put the strike action at the IFSC back by one week to give due consideration to the Labour Court intervention," he added.

Last Wednesday workers picketed outside the bank's head office for the first time in a decade.