August 29, 2004
The Irish Examiner.com: The Irish government may be asked to deploy troops to help banks move millions of euro that have accumulated in branches due to an ongoing ATM security dispute at Brinks Allied. Millions of euro are believed to have piled up in branches during the four-week-old dispute involving SIPTU workers at the security firm, which has a 40 percent share of the Irish cash security market. While the money is held in secure time-switch controlled safes and vaults, there are reportedly concerns that space is running out in some branches and that cash stockpiles are beginning to pose security risks. SIPTU workers at Brinks Allied have rejected the company's latest offer aimed at ending the dispute, which centers on new security policies introduced in the wake of a spate of armored car robberies.SIPTU estimates that €4 million (U.S. $4.8 million) was stolen in armed raids in the first six months of 2004. (Registration required)