The Labour Court recommended on 16 February 2024 that Unite the Union accept New Ireland Assurance (Bank Of Ireland Group)'s offer in the 2024 pay round. The dispute involved 300 Workers represented by Unite; the Court understood that the employer's workforce included about 8,600 union members.
Unite had rejected the offer without a secret ballot and sought a different agreement. The Court noted that one other union had accepted the offer after a secret ballot and another was completing one. It considered that changing the offer could affect an agreement already reached with another union and industrial relations at the company.
The Court recommended accepting the employer's offer as the most reasonable outcome achievable at that time. It also said the parties should consider a more cohesive bargaining structure across three unions in future pay rounds.