UNITE TRADE UNION has today announced that talks last night at the Labour Relations Commission between the union and EBS management relating to a number of issues have been successful and the strike action threatened last week will not take place.

This dispute centred around payment of a so-called 13th month which was a contractual element of annual pay that was discontinued in EBS in 2011. The Labour Court held that this payment comprised a bonus and was therefore prohibited following the incorporation of EBS into AIB.

However it held that this prohibition did not apply to the 2011 payment and recommended that the company pay the two weeks still owed for that year, which it had failed to do.

Following talks which concluded last night, management agreed to set a date for payment of the outstanding sums. The parties have also agreed that other outstanding issues will be referred to the Labour Court for a binding recommendation.

Commenting, today, Unite official Colm Quinlan said all parties had worked hard to resolve the issues and avoid an escalation of industrial action.

Unite will continue engaging with management to ensure that workers’ interests are given due priority during the harmonisation process”, Mr Quinlan concluded.

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