Talks at the Labour Relations Commission, aimed at resolving the dispute between management and union representatives at An Post, were broken off tonight without agreement.
The LRC Chief Executive, Kieran Mulvey said both sides had set out their positions clearly but these positions were irreconcilable. He added that as of now there was no advance towards a resolution of the dispute.
An Post management and representatives from the Communication Workers’ Union held separate talks at the LRC.
According to An Post, 525 workers have been suspended and a further 93 contract workers have been laid off in the dispute.
Earlier arriving for the talks, An Post's director of Corporate Affairs, Larry Donald, said the objective of the discussions was to ensure that the company could move forward to find a resolution and that the union would implement agreements that had already been reached.
However, he would not comment on the possibility of reinstating the suspended workers.
Postal services are still being disrupted in parts of counties Wicklow, Meath, Monaghan and Louth and Galway. This afternoon, 1,000 post boxes were sealed in Dublin. Over the counter services have not been affected.
