About 400 postmasters from around the country today marched through Dublin city centre to the Dail in protest at a Government plan to allow retailers carry out a range of postal services.
|
|
Postmasters expressing their anger at Government plans for postal services
|
The Acting General Secretary of the Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU), Mr Anthony Clinton, said: "We are demanding the withdrawal of PostPoint immediately as it spells the end of postmasters and the post office network."
IPU said An Post is "steam-rolling ahead" with Postpoint, which allows An Post to franchise out postal and electronic services to ordinary retailers, which threatens postmasters livelihoods.
It claimed An Post is prepared to invest millions developing an alternative service rather than investing in its present post office network.
Speaking this afternoon before a meeting with the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party, Mr Clinton said: "The Government has done nothing to implement the report by Mr Phil Flynn, commissioned by Minister Mary O’Rourke, which we have accepted, An Post has accepted and the Government seemed to accept when it was published."
Mr Clinton said the report recommended that the Government should maxamise the amount of its business channelled through An Post’s network.
The IPU, which represents the Republic’s 1,800 postmasters, is also seeking payment of a 12 per cent increase awarded to its members. It said most of its members earn 30 per cent less than the average industrial wage, and the increase was urgently needed to address their high business costs and unsocial working hours.
Though today’s march through Dublin city centre to Leinster House was a peaceful affair, many of the postmasters holding wooden placards demanding the withdrawal of the PostPoint spoke angrily about future plans for postal services.
"We are challenging the Government, we are challenging An Post to save the postmasters," said one.
Over the last few months, the union has engaged in a public campaign to put pressure on local TDs to have the Postpoint system withdrawn.
Among the politicians who meet the union today were Mr Jackie Healy-Rea Independent; Mr Tom Enright, Fine Gael; Mr Jim Higgins, Fine Gael; Mr Johnny Brady, Fianna Fáil; and Tom Gildea, Independent.
The next step said Mr Clinton is the conclusion of its ballot on industrial action on Friday.