Madam, - The recent announcement by the Taoiseach that "an organised and structured approach to labour relations in the financial services industry is vital if the sector is to continue to prosper" is both welcome and puzzling.
As someone who has assisted workers in this sector the reality is far from the Taoiseach's desired approach.
Workers in this sector experience fear and intimidation from their employers with ever more pressure to achieve targets. Any questioning of the system is ruthlessly dealt with. The open-door management style of some of these companies seems to be the result of some type of fascist ideology; the company is never wrong.
The recent family-friendly initiative is a sick joke in the financial services sector where allegiance to anything but the company is frowned on and it is not unknown for workers to be told to decide between the company and their career or family.
So my advice to workers in the financial services sector is to take an "organised and structured approach" to industrial relations. Join a union. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN DUNNE, Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11.