THE Communications Managers' Union is to go ahead with its one day strike on Thursday in a dispute with An Post over the non payment of an arbitration award.
At its annual conference in Waterford yesterday, delegates representing the 450 middle and senior managers endorsed the decision of their national executive council to serve strike notice on An Post.
The general secretary of the CMU, Mr Aidan Hourigan, said the dispute arose over the company's refusal to honour the terms of an arbitration award made last year. This dates back to a claim by the union for payments due under a productivity agreement between the CMU and An Post in 1987.
"We are concerned that the time honoured machinery for resolving differences between An Post and the unions should be set aside and we are fearful that this signals the company's intention to attempt to settle disputes by confrontation", he said.
This is the first time in 57 years that management has failed to honour the findings of an arbitrator, the CMU president, Mr Ralph Gordon, told delegates. However, the dispute was not only about the non payment. "We are being tested and we must show that we are strong and prepared to fight for our rights", Mr Gordon said.
The Minister for Communications, Mr Lowry, urged the union to avail of every facility, including the Labour Relations Commission, to resolve the dispute.
Speaking at the conference yesterday, Mr Lowry also discussed the price reductions announced by Telecom Eireann, saying they would not be the last. There must be further large reductions next year and the year after to keep the company competitive, he said.
Telecom's massive debt is also being cut. From an all time high of £1.2 billion in 1991, the Minister said this had been reduced by £500,000. This, however, was still not enough and the debt remained unacceptably high. This was why an injection of capital through a strategic partner was essential, Mr Lowry said.