The Irish Bank Officials' Association (IBOA) has called on the Bank of Ireland to defer implementation of its reduced pension scheme for new staff pending a Labour Court hearing.

However, a spokesman for the bank said the new arrangements were introduced on October 1st.

He said because of this the new arrangement constituted the "status quo" on October 17th when the Labour Court wrote to both sides asking that the status quo be maintained pending a court hearing into the matter.

"The IBOA is asking us to defer something that has already been implemented," the spokesman said.

The IBOA has disputed this interpretation, and says the court obviously intended that the new scheme would not be introduced pending the outcome of the Labour Court hearing.

The union said it had assented to the court's request not to exacerbate the situation pending the November 9th hearing. It had deferred its ballot on industrial action at the bank.

After a meeting of its Bank of Ireland executive committee yesterday, the union said it was extremely disappointed with the bank's attitude towards the court.

"No single organisation, no matter how big and powerful they may be, should be allowed ride roughshod in such a manner over staff, customers and the very institutions established to promote industrial harmony and agreement," said IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick.

"It is time for Ibec to rein in maverick members like Bank of Ireland or the whole social partnership process is irrelevant.

"It is not acceptable for one of the largest and most profitable employers in the country to blatantly ignore and treat with contempt the State's industrial relations institutions".

The bank, however, strongly rejected the union's criticism.

A spokesman said the bank welcomed the court's invitation to attend a hearing but had pointed out to it that "the revised arrangements for new employees had been implemented on schedule on October 1st in line with contractual commitments".

He said the new pension arrangement, a mix of defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes, was in the best long-term interest of all the bank's employees.

"The IBOA seems to want the bank to do nothing in the face of the sweeping changes that are taking place in the pensions industry worldwide," he said.