Fears for postal service as strike vote looms

THE POSTAL service could be halted within a fortnight because of a row between postmasters and An Post over working conditions.

Last week, the Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) gave An Post a week to withdraw its threat of legal action against postmasters who closed on the Saturday of the Easter bank holiday weekend. That notice ends tomorrow and if the union's demands are not met, it will ballot on industrial action.

The situation worsened last Friday afternoon when 49 postmasters received writs telling them they would be before the High Court if they closed their offices again.