The board of the newly merged Roscommon Credit Union has confirmed there are no plans to downgrade services in Ballaghaderreen.
Concern had been expressed that following the completion of the merger of the two financial institutions last month, services in the branch in the west Roscommon town may be under threat.
It had been suggested locally that the staff who worked in Ballaghaderreen had been made redundant without prior consultation.
However, the Board of the newly expanded organisation has confirmed that following the approval of the merge in August, a formal process began with employees and a number of options were offered- including voluntary redundancy or continued employment.
In a statement to Shannonside FM, the board confirms that no employee of Ballaghaderreen & District Credit Union was forced to take redundancy and employees, of their own free will, chose to accept a voluntary exit package
The board has also refuted claims there are plans to downgrade the service of the Ballaghaderreen office as part of any staff restructuring following the merger.
They have also confirmed that the services in place in the branch will remain and the Board of Roscommon Credit Union aims to provide an enhanced service offering to members at the Ballaghaderreen branch going forward.
The full statement from the board is below:
"A merger between Roscommon Credit Union and Ballaghaderreen Credit Union was completed on 5th August 2022 following a resolution passed at a Special General Meeting (SGM) of members of both credit unions on 12th July 2022. Following completion of the merger, the staffing arrangements for the Ballaghaderreen office and opening hours were reviewed and are currently being finalised.
Due to a confidentiality agreement, Roscommon Credit Union cannot comment on individual employees. However, we can confirm that a formal consultation process between the employees concerned and the Board of Directors of Ballaghaderreen & District Credit Union was entered into. During this process, a number of options, including continued employment and a voluntary exit package, were offered to the employees concerned. The employees, of their own free will, chose to accept a voluntary exit package. We wish to state that no employee of Ballaghaderreen & District Credit Union was forced to take redundancy.
The Board of Roscommon Credit Union wishes to reassure members in Ballaghaderreen that there are no plans to downgrade the service of the Ballaghaderreen office as part of any staff restructuring following the merger. The services in place in the branch will remain and the Board of Roscommon Credit Union aims to provide an enhanced service offering to members at the Ballaghaderreen branch going forward."
