THE UNITE UNION has warned of possible industrial action at AIB, and said it wants to meet with the Finance Minister over the issue.

Unite represents over 200 members at AIB. It has written to Finance Minister Michael Noonan informing him of what it calls a “deteriorating industrial relations climate” at the bank.

It has also warned him of possible industrial action should AIB fail to engage with the union to resolve a number of issues.

The main issue is what the union says is the bank’s failure to honour a pension agreement concluded in 2009.

Unite said it has been trying to clarify the bank’s position on the agreement since last May.

Unite Regional Officer Colm Quinlan said that the three unions in AIB are working together to defend their members’ interests in advance of the bank’s likely re-privatisation.

“Unite has put management and the Minister, representing the bank’s owner, on notice that a continued failure to engage satisfactorily may well result in industrial action”, Quinlan concluded.

Unite represents over 200 former EBS employees who were transferred to AIB.

A spokesperson from AIB said:

AIB always adopts a partnership approach when dealing with issues that affect our employees. In this instance, AIB is open to a meeting with Unite representatives to clarify any issues relating to the EBS pension scheme.

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