Bank officials are to seek at least £2,000 each for working over the millennium bank holiday. This is double the figure being sought by gardai and sets a new headline for other groups of workers, ranging from baby-minders to bar staff and air traffic controllers, for whom it will be business as usual on December 31st.
The claim was floated by the general secretary of the Irish Bank Officials' Association, Mr Kieran Ryan, at the union conference in Dublin at the weekend. Mr Ryan urged the banks not to be confrontational about the issue, but to provide bonuses that would have staff "queueing up" to work.
He appealed to them to ignore the stance taken last week by employers' group IBEC director, Mr Turlough O'Sullivan, that no special bonuses should be paid, because "New Year's Eve is not exactly new". Mr Ryan suggested that Mr O'Sullivan "take a lengthy air flight on the day in question" and refrain from further comment in the meantime.
With the banks reporting profits of £1.4 billion last year and their employees tied to a 4.5 per cent pay rise under Partnership 2000, christian charity towards management was a scarce commodity among bank union delegates at the weekend.
The Government chief whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, may have appealed to people working through the millennium to keep spiritual values to the fore, but "£2,000 for the Year 2000" was the union's message. Exactly how the claim will work out in detail is unclear. The IBOA assistant general secretary, Mr Larry Broderick, estimates that about 600 members will be required to work in the information technology area of banking over the New Year, and another 400 in ancillary services.
These should all receive whatever bonus, if any, is agreed.
How many of the 10,000 other IBOA members will be needed depends on the level of service the banks decide to provide, but December 29th is the only normal bank opening day between Christmas Eve and Tuesday, January 4th.
SIPTU, which has more than 1,000 security guards, porters, cleaners and the all-important staff who keep ATM cash machines topped up, is expected to make similar claims to the IBOA.