Pay dispute stops postal service in parts of Mayo

Post in parts of Co Mayo will not be delivered today after postmasters and postmistresses decided to stage a sit-in.

Eleven staff at sub post offices in Swinford, Kiltimagh and Charlestown refused this morning to travel to the central sorting office at Claremorris to collect and sort the mail for their area.

The action is part of a campaign by rural postmasters for a pay rise in their An Post contracts. The sides have been in dispute since August 19th. The dispute, which is disrupting the sorting of mail, is affecting about 520 rural post offices across the State. Large towns and cities are not affected by the dispute as they have automated sorting facilities.

A spokesman for An Post said they would not be transferring the mail from Claremorris and would stick to an agreement reached last Friday which allows postal workers to sort mail from their homes or from the nearest An Post-owned office.

Members Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU) have decided to close rural sorting offices every Monday and Friday in pursuance of their claim.

Yesterday, Mr John Kane, the IPU general secretary, said its members felt An Post was trying "to gut them" by instructing postal workers to continue sorting mail from home on days other than Monday and Friday.