Irish Postal strike on ice as CWU calls for talks
The prospect of a postal strike receded last night after a public appeal by the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) to An Post management “to reengage with the union immediately in relation to all outstanding issues”.
Earlier this week, the company urged the postal unions to resume negotiations on its strategic plan.
The CWU walked out of negotiations in December, the company claims.
An Post faces a €30.6m operating loss this year, on top of €46m last year.
Under the plan, jobs in letter-post operations would be cut by 1,350 and moves would be made to reduce the Dublin postal system’s huge overtime bill.
In what it said was a stinging rebuke to senior management, the CWU condemned the company’s approach since the two- week notice for industrial action was issued.
Union members had voted by a six-to-one majority in favour of immediate industrial action.
CWU official Seán Mc Donagh said: “Not only have the management of An Post failed to use the two- week period to resolve the situation, but they seem to be going out of their way to escalate it.”
He was referring to what he called a provocative statement by the company to introduce unilateral change without negotiation with the union or the agreement of staff.
The union pledged, from now on, to focus “on how to rescue the national postal service from an increasingly incompetent management in An Post.”
The union said it would campaign “for a stable and viable postal service into the future”.
Mr McDonagh said: “It would be a shame if the opportunity to reengage was squandered by An Post, as to do so would be highly irresponsible and would only harden members’ belief that the company are intent on invoking a dispute, thus making the ultimate resolution of the dispute more difficult to achieve.”
For the past number of weeks, mail deliveries in several parts of the country have been disrupted by CWU members, who account for 90% of postal staff, on a range of local issues.
Although there are different issues involved in each dispute, the company’s inability to pay the 3% due under Sustaining Progress since November 1 is a common factor.
Under the terms of the national wage agreement, the union may not go on strike over the pay increase until the company’s inability-to-pay claim has been examined independently.
An Post insists it cannot afford to pay the increase until postal unions sign up to last year’s cost-cutting recovery plan.
Company sources point the finger at CWU senior officials, claiming they have ignored the unofficial action by its members in Tuam, Co Galway, Drogheda, Co Louth, Mitchelstown, Co Cork and Galway city during the impasse.
