Talks with the National Implementation Body to try to avert a strike at An Post have adjourned for the evening.
The NIB is to maintain contact with both parties.
The Communications Workers' Union, which has set tomorrow as the deadline for industrial action, said the talks were exploratory and a speedy resolution was not expected.
An Post has said it expects CWU members to agree to changes in work practices in return for the increases due under Sustaining Progress and has received the backing of the Labour Court.
The company claims it amounts to a 25% increase, a figure disputed by the union.
