The threat of strike action at An Post has been lifted after unions and management agreed terms for a 12.5 per cent pay rise for many clerical staff.
The executive committee of the Communications Workers' Union has agreed to recommend acceptance of the proposal worked out by the Labour Relations Commission to its members.
The deal was worked out after 13 hours of talks early yesterday morning, hours before industrial action by almost 1,000 workers was to start.
If it had gone ahead, the dispute would have disrupted An Post services to the public, including the handling of ESB bills and plans to deal with AIB customers from July.
Mail services and the payment of social welfare benefits would also have been affected.
The union voted overwhelmingly to strike last month in a dispute over pay increases it claimed were due for changes in work practices and productivity implemented two years ago. The CWU now plans to ballot all 1,300 members in the post office division over the next week.
The union has lifted all threats of industrial action while the ballot is being conducted.
CWU general secretary, Mr Con Scanlon, said he was pleased a settlement had been reached.
He said it was a pity that it had been necessary to ballot for industrial action to persuade the company to negotiate "in a meaningful way" on the issue.
A spokesman for An Post expressed satisfaction with the outcome and said there had been no interruption of service to the public from the dispute.
An Post is suffering a financial crisis, with losses of €12 million last year and projected deficit of €15 million this year. As part of a cost-saving strategy, it announced plans earlier this year to cut 1,140 jobs from its workforce of 14,000 by the end of 2003.
