THE IRISH Bank Officials’ Association has warned that it will not co-operate with plans to restructure the State’s banks unless any redundancies sought in the sector are voluntary.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore are to meet the union to discuss the future of the banks, which are expected to lay off thousands of staff, in the near future.

Larry Broderick, general secretary of the union, said he hoped to meet the Ministers on the matter as early as this week as the prospect of further job losses was a matter of serious concern to the union’s membership.

The union has said the restructuring plans could affect as many as 6,000 workers.

AIB last week announced that it intends to shed some 2,000 of its 15,000 staff in Ireland and Britain before the end of next year. The bank posted a record €10.4 billion net loss for last year.

The union last week met AIB executive chairman David Hodgkinson to discuss the announcement, which it said was a “major, major blow”.

It said the discussions were constructive and that the bank appeared committed to further engagement with the union, once its plans were further clarified.

Mr Broderick accused the Government of falling silent about the proposed job losses in the days after AIB revealed its plans for the next two years.

He said the union was also seeking clarity over the future of staff working in Irish Life Permanent, which is expected to be broken up as part of the restructuring plans unveiled at the end of last month.

Mr Broderick also said the EBS, which is to be merged with AIB, should be retained as a viable entity to prevent a further spate of redundancies.

“Staff numbers should not be the sole focus of the restructuring process,” Mr Broderick said. “There also needs to be a change of culture in the sector.”