Mail strike will hit the nation hard

Postal services throughout many parts of the country will be disrupted next Monday because An Post and the Irish Postmasters Union have failed to resolve a dispute which has been festering for the last two years.

It is almost inconceivable that during that lengthy period the two sides were unable to arrive at a compromise which would have averted the disruption, which will now hit mostly rural areas.

Last year An Post, for the first time in a decade, recorded a loss. Despite a 9% increase in turnover to 625 million, the company had operating losses of 6.7m in 2001. Just 12 months earlier it had reported a profit of 9.8m.