Talks bid to end Irish postal dispute
Efforts were continuing today to prevent a postal dispute that has disrupted deliveries in the west of Ireland spreading to other parts of the Irish Republic.
Initially the mail sorting row affected services in Co Mayo, but yesterday it was extended to Co Waterford in the south-east of the country.
The dispute has led to more than 1,100 post workers being asked to sort mail in their own homes.
The Irish postal company, An Post, said today that special arrangements were being made to clear a backlog of mail in Tramore, Co Waterford.
Talks on the row involving representatives from the company and Ireland’s Post Masters’ Union are due to get under way next Wednesday.
A union spokesman said: “We are hoping to resolve this issue in time for Christmas. If it goes on until then, things will get chaotic.”
The dispute began earlier this year, when 540 rural sub-postmasters suspended sorting facilities at their offices on two days each week to back demands for higher rates of pay.
