Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has “every confidence” in the ability of the trade union representing Ulster Bank workers, to negotiate their redundancy packages.
Expressing his sympathy for workers following confirmation by the bank that it is to cut 600 jobs in the Republic and 350 in the North, Mr Quinn told the Dáil today if the IBOA (Irish Bank Officials’ Association) wanted the Government’s help to negotiate it would wait to hear from the trade union.
“If there are difficulties which are beyond the capacity of the social partners to sort out themselves then the Government will assist,” he said.
“But I have every confidence in the ability of the IBOA to negotiate the entitlements and packages to which their members are eligible and entitled.”
He said “the Labour movement believes it is it the responsibility of trade unions in the first instance to represent the rights of workers and to represent them directly with their employers”.
And he added: “It is not the business of Government to interfere in that particular process,” he said. “If they run into difficulties the machineries of State are there to assist them but there have been no requests for such assistance.”
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald who had asked if the employees’ redundancy packages were secure, said sympathy for Ulster Bank workers “is not enough”.
She asked when the Government first heard about the job losses “because they are very significant in number and its seems an astonishing thing that the story as it were just fell from the sky”.
Fianna Fáil deputy leader Éamon Ó Cuív expressed concern for retail sector workers in Ulster Bank such as cashiers who might not have sought after IT skills.
“The whole question of retraining and upskilling becomes absolutely crucial to their job prospects,” he said.
Mr Quinn said “they will be assessed as to what they want to do, their current skills Where they can get upskilling and training to enhance their employability in sectors actively seeking workers.”
He told Mr Ó Cuív the Government would soon be launching a comprehensive programme “Pathways to Work”, which would assess unemployed workers’ skills “and a range of options offered to them as to how they might upgrade or divert sideways to improve their skills to enhance their job opportunities”.