Posting of CAO forms unaffected by dispute

There have been no major delays reported in the delivery of CAO forms despite the dispute by the Irish Postmasters Union (IPU), a spokesman for An Post said today.

Over 47,000 forms were sent to students this morning. An Post made special arrangements to ensure they would not be delayed by the industrial action by 600 members of the IPU, which entered its second day today.

The workers, who are contracted by An Post to run rural post offices, are refusing to accept postal deliveries from central locations before 8 a.m., two hours later than normal.

The have also withdrawn from supervising and assisting in mail sorting.

General secretary of the IPU, Mr John Kane, predicted postal deliveries in many rural areas could be more than a day late by the end of the week. He told ireland.comthat there had been further disruption this morning and it would intensify during the coming days.

A spokesman for An Post said there was a delay of around one-and-a-half hours on some mail in rural areas. Urban deliveries were unaffected, he said. He described the action as unfortunate and "an inconvenience to our customers in rural areas".

There are no plans to hold further talks in the dispute following the breakdown of talks last Thursday, he said.

Mr Kane also said there had been no formal approach over new talks, despite informal discussions being held with a mediator. "It could be a week or two before it gets to the table," he said.

The main cause of the action is a dispute over pay. The IPU is seeking €42 an hour for sorting duties and for opening post offices before 8 a.m.

But An Post said contracted postmasters received pay increases of 37 per cent in 1997, 6 per cent in September, 2000 and 12 per cent in January, 2001. They would also be receiving a 15 per cent increase in October, backdated to September.