Talks at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) aimed at resolving a dispute between Bank of Ireland and 200 staff at its information technology division, ITSIS, have broken down.
The discussions were being held in a bid to avert a 24-hour strike planned from midnight tomorrow at the ITSIS division.
If the action goes ahead it will have no impact on customers, according to the company. However, the Irish Bank Officials' Association (IBOA) union which represents the staff, claims the action could cause significant disruption.
ITSIS staff provide support for ATMs and internet banking among others services. There are about 100 non-union members in the section and they are expected to work as normal.
The dispute centres around the outsourcing IT activities to Hewlett-Packard in a seven-year deal under which 200 Bank of Ireland IT staff would transfer to the computer giant.
IT staff are unhappy with their job security at Hewlett-Packard and want the option to redeploy to Bank of Ireland once the contract ends.
The proposed strike action tomorrow marks an escalation of a campaign that has seen the trade union ban its members from working overtime.