A threat to postal services from next week was lifted last night following a breakthrough in the dispute that had arisen between An Post and the Irish Postmasters' Union.
IPU members, who run more than 1,700 sub-post offices across the State, are to begin balloting on settlement proposals today.
While the ballot will not be completed until next Monday, the pay dispute which had threatened to seriously disrupt services in the approach to Christmas is all but over.
Postmasters and postmistresses started their industrial action over pay last August when they began refusing to open their premises after 8 a.m.
They had since escalated the action, closing local sorting offices on Mondays and Fridays, and from next Monday were set to withdraw all services except social welfare payments.
A ballot on that action, due to be completed tomorrow, has now been scrapped and a new vote is to take place on settlement proposals worked out over the weekend.
These proposals were drawn up following the intervention of an industrial relations mediator, Mr Phil Flynn.
The IPU's executive decided to recommend acceptance of the proposals at a meeting yesterday. The union's general secretary, Mr John Kane, said he was confident members would accept them.
The proposals provided for increased pay for working on Saturdays and before 8 a.m. on weekdays and also meant postmasters would no longer be required to sort mail.
In addition, a review of the mail service, with a completion date of March 31st next year, would take place with agreed terms of reference.
Any changes arising from the review would be the subject of negotiations and would be backdated to January 1st, he added.
A spokesman for An Post, which has also accepted the proposals, welcomed the decision of the IPU executive and said the company would now await the outcome of the ballot.
Mr Kane said members would resume normal duties this week, while the ballot was in progress. He expected a full service to be back in place by Thursday.
The planned escalation of the dispute would have had serious consequences for postal deliveries across wide areas of the State, particularly in rural areas.
Fewer than 100 of the 1,800 post office outlets in the State are run directly by An Post; the remainder are operated on a contract basis by IPU members.
Full support by postmasters for the planned withdrawal of services from next week, however, was not guaranteed.
Mr Kane conceded last night it would have been "difficult to hold the line" and said he was relieved a settlement had been reached.
