TRADE UNION Unite plans to ballot its 600 members at Bank of Scotland (Ireland) on industrial action later this month over what it described as a “failure” by management to provide clarity to workers about the wind-down of the bank over the coming years.

Unite plans to hold the ballot on October 12th and said it would seek a mandate for industrial action, including a full withdrawal of labour.

But it is not clear if there is an appetite among staff to strike, given the recessionary backdrop.

On August 20th, Lloyds Banking Group announced plans to close BoSI. This will involve the loss of 40 jobs and closing the business to deposits, current accounts and new lending.

The bank said it would appoint an “independent service company” to manage the wind-down of its €33 billion loan book over the coming years. This would involve the transfer of 850 workers from BoSI to the new entity.

It is understood that an announcement on the identity of this service company will be made before the ballot on October 12th.

BoSI’s Irish management team has put together a proposal to take charge of the wind-down through an independent entity that they have established. The management team, led by chief executive Joe Higgins, is believed to be in pole position to be awarded this contract by Lloyds.

In August, Unite said it would seek a shareholding in the independent service company for its members. “That’s still very much our agenda,” Unite press officer Rob Hartnett said yesterday.

Unite said there had been a lack of progress in talks between the bank and staff on redundancies and the appointment of a service company.

The union said no proposal has been put to staff on the terms and conditions of employment that will be in place in the new entity. In addition, there has been no resolution to its pension deficit.

BoSI declined to comment.