An Post seeks legal advice over communication union’s ‘sabotage’ letter

DIRECTORS and management at An Post are consulting libel lawyers following a strongly worded letter from the Communications Workers Union (CWU) to bossesat the troubled semi-State. After the workforce at SDS, An Post’s courier subsidiary, had picketed Thursday’s board meeting which confirmed an earlier decision to close it down, recriminations are beginning to fly between both sides in the continuing industrial relations warfare.

Sources at An Post insist that the letter from the union accused managers of “an act of sabotage”, of “misrepresenting the financial position of SDS” and told the directors that they had been “coerced by misinformation”.

SDS workers were in militant mood outside An Post’s board meeting on Thursday where an “almighty row” was said to have broken out between the five worker directors and other members of the board.

It is understood that ordinary board members accused the worker directors of breaches of confidentiality and trust.

At the same meeting the company’s auditors, KPMG, is believed to have rebutted the suggestion in a union-commissioned report claiming that SDS had a viable commercial future.

Board members were particularly angry that the SDS union had sent out a letter to all its customers telling them to lobby their TDs in favour of keeping the subsidiary open and saving the 270 jobs threatened by the closure.

Elsewhere at An Post, a ballot for industrial action over Christmas is due shortly.

Usually reliable sources say that a mandate for industrial action is a certainty, but that a Christmas strike is unlikely as it is the most lucrative time for the workforce.