A threat of widespread disruption to mail deliveries was lifted yesterday following an eleventh-hour intervention in the postal dispute by the National Implementation Body (NIB).
The dispute between An Post and the Communications Workers' Union, arising from the planned closure of the company's parcels division, SDS, will now be dealt with by the Labour Court next month.
SDS had been due to close this week, with the loss of 270 jobs, but management and the union had not yet finalised agreement on all of the surrounding issues.
The closure is still due to go ahead but will now be delayed for several weeks, until after the Labour Court deals with the matter next month.
Both sides have agreed to be bound by the court's recommendation.
A postal strike had appeared inevitable yesterday when the company refused to reinstate 68 SDS workers to the payroll by a noon deadline set by the CWU.
The workers were suspended on Monday for refusing to co-operate with the wind-down of SDS and reintegration of its business into the main operations of An Post.
An hour after the midday deadline passed, however, the NIB stepped in and issued a recommendation aimed at averting a strike.
The NIB polices the implementation of national partnership deals and comprises high-level representatives of the Government, unions and employers.
It called on the company to lift the suspensions and on the union to suspend industrial action, to allow the Labour Court to hold talks on the SDS closure on February 11th.
The parties were already scheduled to attend the court on February 7th, to discuss a separate disagreement over plans by the company for large-scale job cuts and overtime reductions in its collection and delivery service.
The NIB said that in the context of those talks, the court should address "as a priority" the issue of pay increases due to staff under Sustaining Progress. An Post has pleaded inability to pay increases due under the partnership agreement since November 2003.
Following a meeting of its postal sector executive, the CWU said it accepted the NIB's recommendation "with no strings attached". Mr Steve Fitzpatrick, the union's general secretary, said the advice given by the implementation body represented the only viable solution to the dispute.
An Post said it welcomed the opportunity to conclude talks on the reintegration of SDS by a "definitive date".
The company was continuing to work with the Labour Relations Commission on arrangements for the resumption of work in SDS. "In line with the NIB recommendation, the company will lift suspensions," it said.
Mr Fitzpatrick warned, however, that the union reserved the right to "defend its members' interest" if the NIB formula was "diluted or disregarded in any way".
"No one should underestimate the degree of anger and resolve among workers at An Post," he said.
The decision to close the loss-making SDS was announced by An Post last July. Of the 450 staff, 180 were to be redeployed and the remainder let go through a combination of voluntary redundancy and early retirement.
The company says that 140 staff have applied for the severance package to date, but it expects that number to rise once agreement has been reached with the CWU on outstanding issues. While the NIB recommendation means it has to postpone the closure, it does promise the company finality to a negotiations process that had dragged on for several months.