AIB faces €317,000 staff relocation bill
A 500-strong group of AIB workers will share a relocation pay award of €317,500 for moving to new offices just over six miles from their current workplace.
The Labour Court recommending that the State-owned bank adheres to the provisions of an 11-year-old agreement between AIB and the Financial Services Union (FSU).
The agreement provides for a payment of €635 to each worker if they are relocated over a mile from their current place of work.
The bank is currently proposing to relocate 500 staff from its centre at Ballsbridge to Leopardstown in south Dublin.
It has capacity for around 1,500 and more workers are line to be relocated there.
Before the Labour Court, the AIB strenuously resisted the FSU’s relocation claim. At the court, AIB stated it had advised the union “that relocation payments are no longer appropriate in any circumstances”.
The bank further submitted that the relocation payments “are indefensible where staff are required to travel small distances to new and better working facilities”.
However, in spite of the hardline position adopted at the court, the bank confirmed today that it has accepted the recommendation “and is studying its implications”.
At the court, the FSU argued the relocations would have “an adverse impact on the personal and financial well-being of the staff ”.
The union also argued that the adverse impact takes the form of increased transport costs and travelling time.