Postal services are expected to return to normal next week, despite ongoing rows between An Post and the Communications Workers' Union over a range of issues.
The two sides are due to meet at the Labour Relations Commission on Tuesday to draw up a schedule for negotiations on a recovery plan for the company, which is losing €2.5 million a month.
A dispute which had put the talks in doubt was resolved yesterday when the company said it would restore 89 temporary staff, who were laid off during the postal dispute, to the payroll next week. Management and the union continued to argue over other issues, but both said they would attend next week's talks.
Tight deadlines have been set for the negotiations under a Labour Relations Commission plan which was accepted by both sides this week. It brought to an end the dispute which had caused severe disruption to postal deliveries in Dublin, as well as parts of Louth, Meath, Wicklow and Monaghan, for the past fortnight.
Separate disputes have affected deliveries in other areas since early February. The two worst-hit - Tuam in Co Galway and Drogheda in Co Louth are both expected to have normal service restored next week. Deliveries throughout Galway city and county have also been subject to delays for the past two months. It was not clear last night whether these would continue, but the LRC proposals call for an end to all industrial action while the talks take place.
An Post is to begin unsealing post boxes in Dublin and Drogheda on Monday. It is advising customers to resume sending mail to and from those and the other affected areas from lunch-time on the same day.
The LRC proposals envisage that talks on the future of the company should be completed by mid-May. Issues on which the parties fail to agree are to be referred to the Labour Court.
The company is seeking to reduce staff in its letter post division by 1,350, more than a quarter of the existing number, through a combination of voluntary severance, early retirement and redeployment. However, the most difficult task facing the sides is how to reduce the company's huge overtime bill, particularly in the Dublin area where, management says, overtime accounts for half its payroll costs.
The climate for the talks, to be chaired by the LRC's Deputy Director of Conciliation, Mr Tom Pomphrett could hardly be worse, as yesterday's ongoing arguments demonstrated.
An Post disputed the union's view that the LRC proposals obliged it to reinstate the 89 temporary staff who were laid off during the dispute, in addition to the 555 workers it had suspended.
It refused to concede the point yesterday, but said the 89 would be reinstated early next week as mail flows into the system increased.
It also announced it would be taking on 200 additional casual staff to deal with an anticipated surge in mail. A company spokesman said the CWU objected to this because it would affect members' overtime. The union, however, said it had objected solely because it was not consulted about the decision to hire the extra staff, in line with an agreement in place since 1992.
The union also accused the company of breaking an agreement concerning heavy mail deliveries at its Drogheda sorting office. An Post denied breaching any agreement.
