Talks aimed at resolving the postal dispute reopened at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) this afternoon after Management at An Post and the Communications Workers' Union (CWU) accepted an invitation to talks from the chief executive of the LRC, Mr Kieran Mulvey.
Officials who arrived at the LRC for the talks included the general secretary of the CWU, Mr Con Scanlon, the union's deputy secretary Mr Terry Delaney and officers Mr Brian Shanny and Mr Sean McDonagh.
Mr Larry Donald of An Post today
An Post's director of corporate affairs, Mr Larry Donald, was among the An Post officials who joined the talks.
Over 550 staff have been suspended from work at the Dublin Mail Centre in the row over changes to work practices.
After two days of informal contacts with An Post and the Communications Workers' Union, the commission announced last night it had invited both parties to attend talks this morning.
It would be exploring ways of securing a suspension of the dispute and the starting of direct talks between the two sides, it said.
Mr Kieran Mulvey, the LRC chief executive, said both sides were also being asked not to worsen the situation in the meantime.
Postal services in many areas of the country, including Dublin and surrounding counties, have all but collapsed because of the dispute, which is now in its second week.
An Post's three other main 'hubs' in Cork, Athlone and Portlaoise are still working normally although postal deliveries have slown to a trickle of what they would normally be.
The company has sought "a permanent and binding resolution" to the dispute.