Talks at the Labour Court aimed at averting industrial action at An Post have adjourned until tomorrow morning.
The General Secretary of the Communications Workers’ Union, Steve Fitzpatrick, had warned that the risk of strike action before Christmas was very real. However, he said he hoped these latest conciliation talks could settle the dispute.
Management at An Post and the CWU have been in dispute over the company's refusal to pay overdue national pay increases without major cost cutting reforms by postal workers.
The union has argued that those reforms would place excessive demands on their members in the collection and delivery service, and that pay rises should not be linked to work practice changes.
However, a Labour Court recommendation has already supported the linkage between pay and change.
Last week the Government's top industrial relations watchdog, the National Implementation Body, commissioned an independent financial costing of amendments sought by the CWU regarding the work practice changes demanded by An Post.
That assessment by accountants Grant Thornton will be central to these Labour Court conciliation talks, which are expected to continue over the weekend.
The NIB has set a deadline of next Tuesday for this latest bid to broker an agreed solution.
