Labour Court recommends further pension talks at Allied Irish Bank

The Labour Court recommended further discussion between Allied Irish Bank and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union on proposals to harmonise pension benefits for some employees. Its recommendation was dated 29 July 1999. The dispute concerned a union claim for non-contributory, non-integrated pensions for about 350 non-clerical workers, together with bank-funded back payments. The union said the scheme should cover workers regardless of when they joined. The bank argued that its scheme was not out of line with comparable employments and that the claim was precluded under Partnership 2000. The Court found no case had been established that the scheme was out of line with comparable standards and considered the claim precluded under Partnership 2000. It noted the bank’s proposals to harmonise benefits for employees who started before October 1989 and recommended further talks on those proposals.