An Post crisis – National strike must be averted

WITH chaos looming in the postal service, the troubles besetting An Post are symptomatic of a malaise in a raft of ailing State companies.

Losing money at an alarming rate, An Post urgently requires root-and-branch surgery. So deep-seated are its industrial relations problems that an outright postal strike seems unavoidable.

No sooner has one industrial relations crisis been resolved in a State operation than another has erupted for the Government.

Today’s growing threat to the postal service comes hot on the heels of last week’s narrowly averted strike in the country’s bus and rail system and at the three main airports.

Once more, the beleaguered public are the innocent victims of appalling industrial relations in a State company which provides a vital service.

Whether or not a strike follows, the suspension of some 200 workers at Dublin’s main mail centre means the postal service will be severely disrupted anyway.

So uncertain is the immediate outlook that An Post is appealing to people not to post letters in Dublin, Wicklow, Monaghan, Louth, Meath and Galway.

Apart from Dublin city and county, the domino effect will hit Bray, Greystones, Wicklow town, Carrickmacross, Castleblaney, Drogheda, Dundalk, Kells, Navan and Tuam.

There is a depressing sense of inevitability about this scenario. With the company accusing workers of refusing to carry out normal duties, and with unions claiming management are trying to implement new work practices by stealth, room for manoeuvre is rapidly dwindling.

Particularly worrying was the rapid escalation of the dispute after a conciliatory move by the executive council of the Communication Workers’ Union. Its decision to defer industrial action should have created a breathing space for further talks with management over plans to transform the loss making postal service. Instead, the nation is facing a possible strike.

Having been given an overwhelming mandate for industrial action, the union’s initiative was highly positive. Tactically, the company’s decision to suspend more workers was counterproductive. Widely perceived as provocative, it will ratchet up the tension even more.

There is no denying the scale of An Post’s financial difficulties.

Faced with a soaring over-time bill, its losses last year topped €46 million and a loss of €31m is forecast this year. Its financial position is so dire that An Post pleaded inability to pay a 3% pay increase due to staff under the national wage agreement.

So deeply rooted are its problems that the company is seeking 1,500 redundancies from its 10,000 strong workforce and it is also selling off property in a bid to save the postal service from collapse.

Besides discommoding the general public, the rapidly deteriorating dispute is bound to hit business and industry and could even send some small companies to the wall if payments for products and services are delayed.

Instead of squabbling, there is an onus on both workers and management to co-operate in a bid to rescue the troubled company. Because of its virtual monopoly in the market, An Post has become flabby, lacking a competitive edge.

The immediate challenge is to avert a national strike. Ultimately, both sides must make a concerted effort to cut losses and increase productivity so as to give the public a more efficient, streamlined and viable postal service. Escalating An Post’s industrial relations problems and depriving the public of a vital service is not the answer.