TALKS are likely to take place early next week to avert the growing threat of a strike by clerical staff in An Post, writes Padraig Yeates, Industry and Employment Correspondent.
Meanwhile, middle management in the company is to conduct a strike ballot because of the company's refusal to pay an arbitrator's award that could be up to £4,000 a head.
Last night the general purposes committee of the Civil and Public Service Union discussed the situation at the GPO and the financial services centre of An Post, where over 160 of its 500 members have been suspended.
The CPSU members have been on a work to rule for most of the past week, but suspensions soared by over 100 yesterday when they refused to answer phones all morning.
The work to rule is over a decision by the company to recruit new secretarial staff for senior management externally. The positions have traditionally been promotional outlets for CPSU members, but the company says it could not find suitable applicants.
The union says the company offered different terms and conditions to outside applicants. If similar terms had been offered internally there would have been a larger response.