AN Post management is examining ways to minimise disruption of postal services if Monday's strike at the Dublin Mail Centre (DMC) goes ahead.
The centre handles more than half of the Republic's two million items of mail daily, including all incoming international mail.
Meanwhile, for different reasons, post from Britain is expected to be disrupted. This is because of a 48 hour strike by British postal workers over changes in pay and conditions.
The stoppage, one of several planned, will end on Friday.
At home, both sides in the An Post dispute seemed to be hardening their stances yesterday.
The company is refusing to withdraw its threat of dismissal against a senior shop steward and branch secretary of the Communications Workers' Union at the DMC, while the union says it cannot agree to a resumption of talks on other issues until the threat is withdrawn.
The company is expected to divert post from the DMC to other Dublin offices and to provincial centres, but the CWU may black diverted items.
LRC talks broke down last week after the company gave a letter to the CWU at the start of talks saying it was taking action against a leading CWU official. It said it would no longer discuss industrial relations issues with the individual.
"This dispute is about the unauthorised and disruptive action of the branch secretary at the DMC," a spokesman for the company said.
The CWU general secretary, Mr David Begg, said the union would not allow one of its officers "to be victimised for being a good trade unionist" or accept the management's right to decide who should negotiate on its behalf. The member concerned has 38 years' service with the company, including 36 as a lay officer of the union, and "an unblemished disciplinary record".
The CWU is accusing the company of sabotaging talks to avoid having to explain to the LRC why it has not complied in full with the latter's recommendations on problems at the DMC.