How banking sector workers in Ireland won AI protections

In March 2025, Ireland’s Financial Services Union (FSU), a trade union representing roughly 10,000 workers in Ireland’s financial sector, reached a landmark agreement with the Bank of Ireland stipulating that AI would not be used in employment decisions. The agreement committed the bank to prioritizing reskilling over layoffs and keeping human decision-making at the center of AI processes.

To understand how the deal came together, PAI spoke with Dr. Gareth Murphy, head of industrial relations and campaigns at FSU. His account reveals how shared uncertainty over AI implementation actually created common ground. By adopting an open-ended, principles-based approach that can adapt as technology evolves, the employer and union created an agreement that is mutually beneficial.

• Key Insight No. 1: Uncertainties about AI use and risks shared by employers and employees provided an opportunity for the union to frame pre-emptive protections as mutually beneficial.
• Key Insight No. 2: Given the speed at which AI is moving, unions can seize on opportunities to put AI on the negotiating table.
• Key Insight No. 3: When employers and labor share a sense of humility about the future of AI technology, they can develop broad agreements that encompass shared values.
• Key Insight No. 4: Broad, principles-based agreements require strong enforcement and implementation to succeed.

Download the full case study to explore how FSU and Bank of Ireland navigated the unknowns of AI in the workplace — and what their approach could mean for financial sector workers elsewhere.