The Communications Workers' Union (CWU) hinted last night that An Post's plan to shut down its SDS parcel service with the possible loss of 800 jobs could derail the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) talks over its broader restructuring plan.
A central plank of that plan is to cut 1,450 workers from its 4,547-strong letter post division through voluntary redundancy, early retirement and redeployment.
The plan was designed to save €27 million a year and was drawn up last year by chief executive Mr Donal Curtin and his board after it emerged last year that it was on the verge of losing €40 million for 2003, and a further €37 million this year.
Mr Curtin warned recently that the State company responsible for the postal system, which also operates a range of personal finance services, had to cut costs to remain in business.
It is understood that the parcel business has been loss making for some years, while at the same time An Post has been facing increasing competition in that sector. Its future was known to be on the block several days ago. The board decided at a meeting yesterday to close it, and to sell its premises on Dublin's Naas Road and in Athlone, Co Westmeath, estimated to be worth more than €20 million, to pay for workers' severance.
The company employs 800 permanent and contract workers. It was not clear last night how many of these would face the axe, but the CWU believed the move could threaten either all those jobs or a majority of them.
Its newly appointed secretary general, Mr Stephen Fitzpatrick, - a former postman - argued that the restructuring plan was dependent on partnership between the unions and management. He warned last night that the SDS move "served to undermine the current efforts through the Labour Relations Commission to achieve a viable future for the postal service in Ireland".
The statement did not say or indicate that the CWU intended to pull out of those talks. However, it made it clear that there was a lot more at stake for the State company than simply solving the SDS problem.
In late 2002 after posting a trading loss of €17.9 million, An Post told the Government that it did not need a survival plan and even predicted that it would make €1 million profit in 2003.
However, it changed its tune last year and warned that it was facing huge losses. This led the Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, to accuse the company of providing its shareholder, the State, with inaccurate information.
The company has since drawn up its transformation plan, which involves redundancies and new work practices.
