Decision by central bank leadership follows workers registering their opposition to Central Bank role

The Unite committee representing staff working in the Central Bank has issued a statement expressing “revulsion” at the position workers have been placed in through the Bank’s role in the approval of Israeli government bond prospectuses. The statement was issued in response to yesterday’s announcement by the Central Bank that it is no longer to be involved in the approval of Israeli government bond prospectuses, the function now transferring to Luxemburg.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the workers statement notes that: “The Bank’s role in approving Israeli government bond prospectuses is an affront to our values as public servants and incompatible with the principles on which the Central Bank should stand.”

Unite deputy regional secretary Tom Fitzgerald, added: “No worker should ever be put in a position where they suffer a conflict of conscience due to their employer’s role. This is not a question of abstract politics. It is about ethical standards and public service values.”

The Unite Committee’s statement concludes: “Moving the process to another jurisdiction does not alter the human consequences of these bonds, nor diminish the need for accountability.  We will continue to speak out against this practice, wherever it is carried out.

“This change is a step forward for staff in the Central Bank of Ireland. But the struggle for justice, for accountability, and for the protection of workers from being drawn into complicity with atrocities, continues.”

ENDS…