The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has been asked to mediate a dispute between PTSB and workers represented by trade unions Unite and the Financial Services Union (FSU) over a proposed pay increase.
The bank, which declined to comment, is understood to have made an offer significantly lower than the general pay increase sought this year by Unite, which represents a majority of workers at the lender.
The union said last August it was submitting a claim for 13 per cent for 2024 after PTSB chief executive Eamonn Crowley indicated the bank may soon be in a position to resume paying dividends to shareholders. Mr Crowley’s remarks followed publication of the lender’s results for 2022, showing it had returned to profitability after the pandemic with a €267 million pretax profit.
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PTSB, which has not paid a dividend since before the financial crisis, subsequently secured approval from financial regulators to return to making payouts, which it is expected to do over the coming years.
PTSB, Unite and the FSU, which represents managers at the bank after securing a collective bargaining agreement last year, will go to the Workplace Relations Commission next Tuesday seeking a mediated outcome to the dispute.
Mediation is a voluntary process offered by the WRC to assist stakeholders in coming to a mutually acceptable outcome. If an agreement is reached between the two sides, members of both unions will be asked whether they accept or reject the deal in a ballot.
Gareth Murphy, head of industrial relations and campaigns at the FSU, said: “Staff in PTSB have worked tirelessly over the last number of years transforming PTSB into a profitable and sustainable bank. It is time staff were rewarded fairly for their professionalism and dedication in providing a first-class customer service”
Last August Unite regional officer Jean O’Dowd said the union’s members had taken a real pay cut of 4 per cent since the last pay deal was negotiated in 2022 due to the soaring cost of living. “Management should be in no doubt regarding our members’ determination to achieve a real pay increase,” she said.
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