The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called on the Government to restore the rights and protections that applied to Irish Bank Resolution Corporation workers, before the introduction of emergency legislation that liquidated the company. Congress General Secretary, David Begg, said: “Although, the Government says this radical change in the corporate status of IBRC was necessary to facilitate its deal with the European Central Bank, one of the consequences has been to deprive these workers of many of the usual protections of employment legislation along with the terms and conditions of employment agreed between their employer and their trade union, IBOA. "The position of the IBRC workers was completely transformed by an overnight vote in the Oireachtas. On Wednesday they were working on a phased wind-down of the company over a number of years. On Thursday they were effectively offered employment on inferior terms on temporary rolling contracts which only guarantee employment one month at a time for as long as the process of liquidation lasts,” Begg said. “If the Government wishes to avoid the charge of having used the crisis to undermine workers' rights in an opportunistic fashion, it should move to restore the terms and conditions of employment that applied in IBRC before the Oireachtas legislated on this matter as soon as possible," Begg said. "One of the aims of public policy in this country is to achieve stable and secure employment. This latest development has destabilised the already limited employment opportunities of these workers by effectively circumventing their employment rights, “ Begg concluded.
Congress calls on Government to restore rights of IBRC workers
