Congress says Bank of Ireland in breach of Towards 2016
25 Oct 2006
The Executive Council of Congress today (October 25) condemned the Bank of Ireland's refusal to comply with a Labour Court request on deferring a controversial new pension scheme and said the bank was now "in clear breach of Towards 2016."
Speaking after the meeting, Congress General Secretary said: "This agreement was ratified less than two months ago and already one of the country's major employers is in clear breach of its provisions. And to add insult to injury the bank refuses to comply with a request from the Labour Court. There is no excuse for this.
"The inability of employers' body Ibec to persuade some of its most prominent to abide by the terms of Towards 2016 poses an unprecedented challenge to social partnership itself," said Mr Begg.
Bank of Ireland recently announced its intention to exclude new employees from its Defined Benefit Pension Plan. The Labour Court had requested the bank defer introduction of the new scheme until it investigates the issue.
"Congress has been leading the campaign for pension reform. This is a central feature of Towards 2016, Mr Begg continued.
"The extent to which employers are unravelling pension schemes is alarming. The potential exposure of workers to poverty in old age is not widely appreciated and, as a society we are storing up very serious problems for the future. While recognising that some employers may be under financial pressure this is not the case with Bank of Ireland, which is hugely profitable".
Congress believes the decision to exclude new young workers from the bank's Defined Benefit scheme will not just disadvantage this group but will ultimately undermine the viability of the scheme, as every pension scheme needs new members to replace those retiring in order to keep it financially sound.
"The implications of a series of large employers taking this route would be very serious. That is why the precedent being set by a major profitable employer like Bank of Ireland is so worrying", added Mr Begg.
Ends