Postal strike averted in Ireland as union accepts labor court’s ruling

A threatened strike in Ireland’s national postal service was averted Wednesday when the major labor union accepted a compromise ruling from the Irish Labour Court.

The 10-page ruling called for directors of An Post to give workers a previously agreed 5 percent raise immediately and a further 2.5 percent raise next May. The Communication Workers Union, which represents about 8,500 workers at An Post, said they would accept the proposal and cancel their previous plan to strike before Christmas.

An Post said its senior management would discuss the court ruling Thursday and declined immediate comment. The company previously said it could not afford to pay higher wages unless union chiefs accepted the need for staff cuts and overtime reforms in return.

The Labour Court, whose rulings are not legally enforceable but usually accepted by unions and employers, said in its 10-page ruling that union leaders would need to accept the management’s plans to cut costs. It added that An Post managers and union chiefs should “critically review” their relations as soon as possible.