A ballot of Ulster Bank staff will commence on Wednesday.
The majority of Ulster Bank staff will receive pay rises of between 2% and 5% this year if proposals negotiated by the Financial Services Union (FSU) are accepted this month.
A ballot of union members will commence on Wednesday, 10 January and conclude on Friday, 26 January and should the proposals negotiated by the FSU with Ulster Bank be accepted, then pay rises will kick in starting from April of this year.
The FSU also rejected pay range proposals in last year’s pay round for Ulster Bank members in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that the company had intended to implement in 2019.
The current pay proposals include a commitment from Ulster Bank that any negative range changes will not be implemented without a further round of negotiations with the FSU later this year.
FSU Senior Official Gareth Murphy, who was responsible for these negotiations, said: “We have concluded a set of proposals through direct talks with the Bank which, if accepted by members, will see a majority of Ulster Bank staff receiving between 2% and 5% pay increase this year.
“We also have achieved a further opportunity to negotiate on disputed pay ranges. These have been tough negotiations but we feel these proposals are the best we can achieve with Ulster Bank at present. A ballot of members will commence on Wednesday 10th January and conclude on Friday 26th January.
“We believe these pay proposals are broadly in line with other unionised employments. In contrast, pay in the non-unionised finance sector can often be shrouded in mystery for staff with highly individualised, subjective pay systems which no one is allowed discuss.
“Staff in Ulster Bank have the chance to influence and vote on clear and transparent pay increases and that is a very positive feature of unionised employment. They also get to see, influence and vote on their pay ranges which can again, in other employments, be held as secret by HR departments.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
