A group of postmasters and postmistresses demonstrated outside the post office in Ballina, Co Mayo, yesterday as their dispute with An Post continued.
The Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU) said the protest was an impromptu demonstration.
However, An Post said it believed the event had been carefully staged by the IPU to step up its action.
Rural postmasters have been in dispute with An Post over a range of pay issues since August 19th. 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 Limerick, Galway and Portlaoise are not affected by the dispute as they have automated sorting facilities.
Earlier this week, the IPU said the next logical step would be to target over-the-counter postal services, such as selling stamps and handling parcels. Such action would almost certainly affect the busy Christmas season.
Last week, IPU members agreed to close rural sorting offices every Monday and Friday in pursuance of their claim. In response, An Post asked postal workers to sort mail from their homes or from the nearest An Post-owned office.
Yesterday, Mr John Kane, the IPU general secretary, said its members felt An Post was trying "to gut them" by instructing postal workers to continue sorting mail from home on days other than Monday and Friday.
He said that workers in parts of Meath, Mayo, Donegal and Monaghan returned to sort mail from the sorting offices yesterday, despite An Post's instructions.
"If An Post put the same resources into resolving the dispute as they are spending on travelling and overtime, the dispute would be solved long ago," he said.
An Post and the IPU disagreed yesterday on the effect of the dispute on postal deliveries. The IPU said post was several hours late, if not a day late, in some cases.
An Post's spokesman, Mr John Foley, rejected this and said post may be an hour or two late in some cases, "but no more than that. And there are no backlogs."
He rejected criticism from the IPU about workers sorting post from home and said "we have an obligation to maintain deliveries and that's our priority".
