Postal protest causes EU-wide lunchtime closure

SERVICES will be disrupted at more than 100 post offices today as workers protest over European Commission plans to open the postal market.

Post offices will close between 1pm and 2pm as part of a Europe-wide day of action.

Protests are expected to affect at least 300 European cities over concerns about job losses when the postal market is liberalised.

“As part of the protest, all company staffed post offices will be closed between 1pm and 2pm.

“A demonstration by workers will also take place outside the GPO, Dublin, at 1pm,” said the Communications Workers Union (CWU) yesterday.

Services will only be affected at company offices and not private outlets that operate postal services inside their premises.

The CWU, which represents most of the sector’s 10,000 workers, warn that services could be downgraded when the market is opened up in January 2009, as is planned by the European Commission.

The CWU’s National Officer Sean McDonagh added:

“The likelihood of common services and one price postage costs will diminish.”

He warned that competition would ultimately “cherry pick” major urban busy postage areas, neglecting quieter rural areas. This would further lead to a loss in jobs, he added, which has caused around two million postal employees across Europe today to take action.

The CWU say outgoing Communications Minister Noel Dempsey has put in place no provision for funding to secure a universal postal service at an affordable price to all customers wherever they live.

European Ministers tomorrow will meet and discuss the issue. Trade unions wants them to reject the EC’s proposals.

Today’s action is being supported by the CWU as well as the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants, the Civil Public and Services Union and the Public Service Executive Union.

It is expected that a number of further actions will follow as An Post employees fight the EC’s plans.

Post under 50g weight is currently controlled under a monopoly by An Post.

Under the new proposals, this monopoly will end in 2009 and companies will be able to compete in the domestic letter market, delivering mail directly to the public.

However, under the plans, member states will be obliged to offer some type of universal or minimum service. This could mean one delivery and collection five days a week for every EU citizen.

The initiative though leaves it up each member state to decide how and Irish trade unions stress this has not been decided by the Government.