Christmas post could be affected by the threatened escalation of a pay dispute between postmasters and An Post.
The Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) said yesterday it was considering stepping up its action and the next logical step would be the disruption of over-the-counter postal services such as the purchase of stamps or postage of parcels or registered letters.
Mr John Kane, the IPU general secretary, said the union would be reluctant to take this step for a variety of reasons but it might be faced with no other option.
The dispute, which is disrupting the sorting of mail, is affecting about 520 rural post offices all over the State.
Large towns and cities such as Cork, Galway and Portlaoise are not affected by the dispute as they have automated sorting facilities, but it is hitting rural post offices outside all urban centres.
However, if the dispute was to be stepped up, its effects would be felt in urban as well as rural areas.
With just six weeks to Christmas, an escalation would cause serious difficulties for An Post at its busiest period.
Mr Kane said he accepted that an acceleration of the dispute would cause chaos in the weeks before Christmas, but postmasters might be forced to take this action.
The postmasters have been in dispute with An Post since August 19th over a range of pay issues including their failure to secure a 1 per cent increase under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
Workers from about 225 post offices began sorting mail from their homes last week after the IPU said members would close rural sorting offices every Monday and Friday in pursuance of their claim.
The Communications Workers' Union (CWU) agreed to co- operate with An Post to allow their members to do this job from home. The CWU defended this move, saying its members were being locked out by the postmasters while the postmasters continued to operate their shops or newsagents as normal.
Yesterday the IPU again criticised the CWU's action and Mr Kane said it would not help to speed a resolution of the dispute.
Workers in the other 295 offices have been travelling to the nearest An Post-owned office to collect and sort the mail.
Mr Kane also questioned why postal workers were told to sort the mail from home on days other than Monday and Friday.
A spokesman, Mr John Foley, said An Post had made a decision to use this arrangement and it was working "pretty well". The arrangement would be reviewed later this week, but until then post would continue to be sorted from the workers' homes.
He said post was being delivered with minimum disruption. A very small number of staff had a difficulty with the arrangement, Mr Foley said.
According to the IPU, postal workers in about six locations have refused to sort the post from home, in solidarity with their postmasters.
The IPU maintains that post is being delayed by up to 1½ hours in some areas because of the dispute.
Mr Kane said postmasters would hold firm in their action and were considering a number of possibilities for stepping up the dispute.
The dispute came to public attention in August when IPU members refused to accept postal deliveries before 8 a.m., two hours later than normal. They also withdrew from mail-sorting duties.
This led to reported delays of two to three hours in deliveries, as well as reports that workers were going on deliveries without all the mail because it had not been sorted in time.
Yesterday An Post and the IPU were pessimistic about any progress in resolving the row, but it is understood that behind-the-scenes efforts are still being made.
