A trade union representing workers in the financial sector is to claim for increases of 10 per cent in basic pay over a two-year period following the recent breakdown of national pay talks, it has confirmed.
The Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA), which represents 15,000 workers, said it would lodge claims with the four major banking groups in the Republic.
It said it would also pursue “enhanced rewards for members on other sector-specific and company-specific issues”.
Speaking after the union’s executive committee met to finalise its pay strategy, IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, said it would press ahead with claims on a new pay round in the four major retail banks after the previous agreements expired at the end of last month.
“The base-line increase we are seeking is 10 per cent over two years in order to inflation-proof our members’ basic pay against expected cost-of-living increases of around 5 per cent a year over that period,” he said.
Other areas the union wants addressed include recognition of professional qualifications, rewards for enhanced productivity, guarantees on job security and measures to enhance work-life balance.
“We will be communicating formally to the banks in the coming week to initiate negotiations on these claims in line with our procedural agreements with these employers," Mr Broderick said.
Other unions are expected to follow suit by lodging individual pay claims with employers following the failure of the social partners to reach agreement last month on a successor to the last national pay agreement, Towards 2016.