THOUSANDS OF banking jobs could be at risk following the introduction of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) has said.
The union is seeking clarification from Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan on the future of the jobs of its 23,000 members in the financial services sector.
IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick said he recognised that some “reconfiguration” of the sector might be necessary once Nama was up and running, but this must not be used by banks as an excuse to cut jobs.
“IBOA is concerned that consolidation could be used as a pretext by senior managements to pursue an opportunistic cost-cutting agenda putting thousands of jobs at risk.”
He said the Government, by virtue of its shareholding in the banks, had a financial and moral authority to ensure the sector operated in the longer-term public interest.
“Ordinary bank staff could now be scapegoated by the same management philosophy which was behind the current crisis unless the Government takes specific steps to prevent it.”
These bank staff had not participated in the “culture of greed” which was at the heart of the financial crises, Mr Broderick said, and had warned against the harmful effects of performance-related pay and the excessive bonus culture which had prioritised short-term profit-making over the long-term stability of the industry.
The IBOA was calling on Mr Lenihan to convene a commission on banking with representatives from all of the stakeholders in the sector, including shareholders, senior management, staff, customers, the relevant State agencies and political parties, to try to achieve a consensus on the future direction of the sector and its role within the economy.
The union was also seeking direct discussions with the Department of Finance, Nama, the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank in relation to the possible effects of the establishment of Nama on banking jobs.
A spokesman for the department said it had not yet received any correspondence from the IBOA in relation to the creation of a commission on banking.
