‘We’re not going back into our box’

SEAN MARTIN has been a postmaster in Tramore in Waterford for the past 10 years. He loves his job. While his post office is not as busy now as it during the peak summer months, the seaside resort is still a hive of activity at this time of year.

He enjoys the chat and the banter with locals and visitors and fails to understand An Post’s attitude and its unwillingness to resolve the dispute.

“They have spent a lot of money fighting us on this one,” he said. “They want the Irish Postmasters Union to go back into its box. We’re not going to do that.

“We have met to discuss this matter on numerous occasions. And we will go to the wire on this. We are not a militant union, far from it. It was 1963 when we last took action. We are offering a huge public service and we deserve a better lot,” he said.

Over a third of postmasters around the country work for less than the national wage rate. Those who work before 8am get no more than €2 per hour. And of the 550 offices with postmasters attached, around 250 operate before 8am. Some are up and at work by 6am.

The Irish Postmaster’s Union has put in a claim for €42 per hour, for work before 8am. It is open to negotiation, though.

“An Post has to be realistic. For years they have seen us as a group that would never take action. They played on that. There is now a small shift coming because younger people who come in to this job won’t work for the rates.

“The response from the public has been nothing short of fabulous. The majority of people are telling us to stick to our guns. They’re saying if we don’t shout, we’ll get nowhere. This may change, though, if we are forced to close our doors,” he said.

The relationship between postmasters and postmen has never been better, the national executive general treasurer said. The postmen back the postmasters 110%, he said.

Postmasters say they have taken a lot lying down.

But they want at least five of their 17 demands to be met.

Otherwise, they will ballot on Thursday and take action, which could cripple the sub-post office network of 1,650 branches.