An escalation of the dispute which has disrupted some postal services around the country is to be considered by sub-post office owners at a meeting in Dublin today.
Calls for sub-post offices to be closed in an attempt to bring the dispute to a head are likely to be aired at the meeting. A more gradual escalation of the dispute, however, is considered likely.
Talks aimed at resolving the dispute between An Post and the Irish Postmasters' Union are to take place next Wednesday. About 600 postmasters and postmistresses, who work for An Post as contractors and are seeking a pay rise, are involved in the dispute.
Postal deliveries returned to near normal yesterday throughout the State after An Post staff in several locations agreed to resume co-operation with new sorting arrangements.
Staff have been sorting mail at their homes or at central sorting locations since the contractors involved in the dispute began closing local sorting offices on Mondays and Fridays.
Mr John Kane of the Irish Postmasters' Union said the decision to shut the sorting offices was "phase two" in a campaign of industrial action, following an earlier decision not to open sub-post offices until 8 a.m.
Phase three would involve a withdrawal of all mail services and phase four a withdrawal of all services except pension payments.
Both these phases were likely to be considered at today's general meeting, but he also expected calls to shut down sub-post offices altogether, he said.
The industrial action began last August and has caused sporadic disruption to some services.
A spokesman for An Post said deliveries were back to normal yesterday, although a backlog was still being cleared in Tramore, Co Waterford, where staff had staged a sit-in over the sorting of mail.
Industrial relations consultant Mr Phil Flynn is to act as a facilitator at the talks next Wednesday. The IPU members claim allowances for early-morning work are insufficient and that they are not being paid enough for carrying out a number of functions.