Union looks to new Governor to address staff concerns

December 3rd: Unite today announced that a vote of no confidence in members of senior management received a 92 per cent endorsement in a ballot of Unite members. The ballot followed revelations surrounding secret bonus payments to a small cohort of staff.

Commenting, Unite Regional Officer Colm Quinlan pointed out that the union had been raising concerns about a bonus culture at the Central Bank since May, when it learnt of the so-called retention bonuses, and that members had been shocked last week to learn of the existence of another bonus scheme, notwithstanding previous denials by the Bank.

“Unite members are committed to ensuring that the Central Bank, which is charged with oversight of the banking sector as a whole, conforms to the highest standards of transparency and probity.

“We have today written to incoming Central Bank Governor Philip Lane welcoming him in his new role, expressing our appreciation for his commitment to a culture of collaboration and communication expressed in his message to staff, and asking him to request members of senior management to provide us with the legal advice on which the Bank based its implementation of the retention bonus payments.

“The fact that, in the ballot which concluded yesterday, fewer than one in ten Unite members at the Central Bank voting expressed confidence in members of senior management who promoted these bonus schemes is an indication of the concern our members feel, and of our determination that a culture of clandestine payments and misinformation should not become the norm in an institution as crucial to public life as the Central Bank”, Mr Quinlan concluded.