Danske Northern Ireland spared job cuts for two years, union says

Danske Bank's Northern Ireland operation, which employs about 1,350 people, has committed to not cutting jobs for at least the next two years, according to the Financial Services Union (FSU).

It comes even though the wider Danish group said in October that it aimed to cut 7 per cent of its workforce – or up to 1,600 jobs – over the space of six to 12 months as part of a cost-cutting programme that runs to 2023.

Members of FSU in Danske Bank in the North voted overwhelmingly by a deadline on Friday in favour of a broad-based deal between the union and the lender.

“The deal provides for pay certainty over the next three years and a commitment from the Bank that there will be no redundancies, either voluntary or compulsory, for at least the next two years,” said Mandy La Combre, a senior industrial relations officer with the FSU.

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“With Northern Ireland unemployment and redundancy figures at an all-time high, and all the economic uncertainty at this time, a commitment on job security is to be welcomed.”

Agreement

Discussion had been underway for the last three months between the bank and the FSU to try and reach agreement on an array of issues to manage escalating costs, protect jobs and mitigate the need for redundancies, the union said.

Aspects of the deal include an increase in maternity pay from six weeks full pay to 26 weeks and an increase in parents leave from three days to two. Danske Bank has the second-largest network across the six counties, after Ulster Bank.

The deal comes as Bank of Ireland is in the middle of a "strategic review" its Northern Ireland unit, prompting immediate speculation that the bank will either dramatically reduce its footprint across 28 branches - or exit entirely - a market where it has been for 190 years.

In a region of 1.88 million people, Northern Ireland is considered overbanked with four main retail lenders, according to analysts.

Bank of Ireland’s Northern Ireland business has £5 billion (€5.53 billion) of customer deposits and current accounts, about double the size of its loan book.