Tag: Republic of Ireland

An Post is likely to be compensated if new competitors ‘cherry pick’ lucrative, highly-populated areas after the postal market is opened up to competition in 2009.

A European Commission Directive announced last week by the EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy w ill expose An Post to the full rigours of competition in all sections of the postal markets in just over two years.

McCreevy sa id the directive would deliver ‘‘efficiency, quality, performance and profitability’’ to postal companies. European postal companies will be free to compete in the domestic letter market and deliver mail directly to the public.

But the government can impose a levy on new entrants to compensate An Post for losses arising from its legal obligation to deliver domestic mail to poorly populated areas, which are loss-making.

The new chief of An Post is to press for the payment of 20m in frozen wages in a move to improve relations with the main postal workers’ union.

Donal Connell, whose father was a postal worker, will seek board approval to pay the wages under part of the Sustaining Progress pay deal frozen by his predecessor Donal Curtin.

Former Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Peter Cassells is due to reactivate talks next month, between the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) and management, to improve working relations.

CWU general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick said that following a recent meeting, Mr Connell announced that, as a result of his union’s representations and in consultation with An Post chairwoman, Margaret McGinley, it had been agreed to recommend payment of the monies due.

“While many serious challenges face our members in An Post, no one can deny that this decision is a very good start by the new CEO.

“Hopefully this will lead to the development of a more positive relationship between the union and the management,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

About 20m is owed to current staff and pensioners from earlier phases of the Sustaining Progress pay rises which were frozen.

The proposal to pay this back money will be made to the board at the end of September.