Disputes should be settled fast

SOCIETY tends to take for granted the basic services provided by postmen, hospital doctors and family dentists.

Yet they are as much part of the fabric of modern life as buses or trains or computers.

Inescapably, when such fundamental provisions are disrupted, serious questions arise.

Yesterday saw a case in point as people in rural areas faced postal delays when deliveries were hit by industrial action involving contract workers with An Post.

Reflecting a growing frustration in society as the economy deteriorates, members of the Postmasters’ Union staged a go-slow, effectively delaying by two hours the opening of 600 rural sorting offices from the usual 6am to 8am.

Hopefully, this bitter row will not derail the special arrangements made for today’s delivery of CAO offers of third level places for tens of thousands of Leaving Cert pupils. Secondary students have already suffered enough from teacher strikes without going through more mental torture.

As so often in the past, whenever basic services are curtailed, the postal strike is hitting innocent members of the public who are being held to ransom in a pay row which should never have been allowed to reach this impasse. The irony is, that as night follows day, it will ultimately have to be sorted out. In the meantime, the public will be victimised.

Of particular concern is the fact that disruptive action in the postal service is set to continue indefinitely. Inescapably, the longer it goes on, the worse the impact on people in rural locations, especially senior citizens living in more remote areas who depend on the postman for social contact.

There is an urgent need to return to the negotiating table. Otherwise, this festering row between postmasters and the State-run service could deteriorate even further. There is an onus on both sides to emulate the example of warring doctors and health board managers who yesterday resumed talks under the aegis of the Labour Conciliation Commission.

Significantly, the adjournment of the LRC hearing until Friday gives hope for an early resolution of a battle which has already disrupted the normal running of hospitals at Waterford and Tullamore where patients became the victims as operations and treatment were cancelled.

Regrettably, besides offering talks about talks, there is no sight of a resolution of the on-going row between the Government and dentists over the cost of treatment for thousands of PRSI workers. Despite ministerial holidays, there is a growing sense of urgency of the need to sort out this issue which is hitting the less well-off, particularly the children of families who can ill-afford to pay soaring charges for dental treatment.

On another front, hospital consultants are seeking a meeting with Health Minister Micheál Martin to discuss cut backs in the health service. Yet another symptom of the current unease over the rising cost of services, is to be seen in the mounting speculation over the imminent reintroduction of fees for third level education.

Arguably, the scheme introduced by Labour in 1995 has proved more beneficial for those who can afford to pay and ought to be overhauled. However, it should not be sacrificed to the cost of those on the margins of society by a Government intent on introducing cut backs under other guises.

As is evident from the rash of disputes in the postal, hospital and dental services, the economic downturn has a worrying capacity to spark serious industrial unrest.