Directors deny prior knowledge of SDS plans

An Post worker-directors have told their trade union that the State company did not tell them of the plan to shut SDS with the loss of 270 jobs until the day before it was announced late last month, writes Barry O'Halloran.

Three worker-directors, Mr Pat Compton, Mr Jerry Condon and Mr Paddy Davoren, have written to the Communications Workers' Union (CWU), contradicting a statement by An Post chief executive Mr Donal Curtin, which implied that they had known since November that SDS was threatened by closure.

In an interview on the RTÉ radio programme News At One, Mr Curtin said the SDS issue came to the board's attention in November and it was discussed over the following months before a decision was taken in July.

"The reality of semi-state, and in particular An Post, is that there is a large representative of worker-directors on that board. This was an issue that was clearly, deeply understood within the trade union movement," he said.

In their letter to the union, which The Irish Times has seen, the three worker-directors say that, as Mr Curtin chose to make a public statement that suggested a lack of integrity on their part, they are "honour bound" to set the record straight.

"The July meeting was the only meeting which received and discussed the plan from management," the letter says. "The worker-directors argued for the full implementation of all aspects of the SDS recovery plan.

"Worker-directors opposed the reintegration plan [the plan to wind up SDS\] and argued strongly for the implementation of the recommendations in the independent review carried out by Paul Sweeney and Associates."

The other options for SDS included continuing to operate the business or selling the unit.

The letter also accuses Mr Curtin of specifically referring to the worker-directors, as distinct from other board members, in order to "defend his lack of consultation with the union".

The three worker-directors are members of the CWU. They refused to comment on the issue last night.

It is understood that Mr Curtin's statement on RTÉ sparked criticism of the worker-directors from within the union. However, while directors on semi-state boards are there to represent workers' interests, they are also bound by strict confidentiality and cannot use information obtained at board meetings in the industrial relations process.

News that An Post intended to close SDS, with the loss of 270 jobs, and to transfer part of the business to the letter post division, emerged in the final week in July.

The company intends selling its premises on Dublin's Naas Road and in Athlone, and using the €20 million raised to fund a redundancy package.