Mail delivery grinds to halt in protest

DELIVERY of up to a half million letters ground to a halt today with the 24-hour closure of all sorting facilities attached to 600 sub-post offices in rural parts of the country.

Members of the Irish Postmasters' Union intend to shut down sorting of mail for two days each week until Christmas unless there is settlement of their dispute over payments with An Post. The union is planning a second shutdown on Friday. An Post said last night it considered the postmasters' action a breach of contract. A spokesman pointed out the company had offered the postmasters a review of their involvement in the mails handling area a starting point towards resolution of the bitter row.

The post office closures will have a major impact on businesses, according to ISME (Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association). "Closures for two days in every week until Christmas are going to create havoc," said chief executive Mark Fielding. Criticising An Post for allowing the dispute to drag on, he declared: "One of the things we are very disappointed in is the attitude of management, who appear to be sending in the wrong division to negotiate, so the postmasters' union are not talking to the decision-makers.