Mr. John O'Connell:

We fought over and raised a number of things with KBC, which refused to talk directly with us. One was its right to transfer of undertakings to Bank of Ireland. We fought that and registered a complaint with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission against the sale, on the basis that KBC would not commit to a transfer of undertakings. In fairness, Bank of Ireland committed straight away to honouring the transfer of undertakings regulations, TUPE, but we required KBC to do it. It eventually committed to that.

We put in a claim for redundancy. While people have a right to transfer with their work, the redundancy package for those who do not transfer is decent. The strength of being a member of a trade union came through again. We highlighted and resolved major pension issues by referring the matter to the Labour Court. KBC does not have a good track record with its employees or with engaging with stakeholders such as us in a collective bargaining format. When its parent company recognises and engages with trade unions and lauds itself as being a supporter of collective bargaining in its environmental, social and corporate governance report, KBC is a two-faced coin from our point of view. We will represent members and ensure that they are looked after, but we want engagement with KBC even at this late stage. It should postpone matters until the regulator proclaims that the receiving banks are ready.