Attempts to resolve a dispute involving delivery staff at Blackrock Post Office failed yesterday.
Unofficial action was taken by delivery staff in Blackrock, Co Dublin, on Thursday after they rejected an agreement between the Communications Workers' Union and An Post to clear a Christmas backlog.
Negotiators were "tied up" all day yesterday trying to resolve the dispute, "but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere", said a source.
The 27 men were taken off the payroll and will not receive any strike pay or social welfare payments because of the unofficial nature of the action, said Mr Stephen Fitzpatrick, of the Communications Workers' Union.
Only six of the approximately 30 routes in Blackrock received a delivery in the last couple of days, according to An Post.
The backlog built up because of the outbreak of flu before Christmas, and because international post did not arrive until after Christmas due to storms, said Mr Fitzpatrick.
All other post offices in the Dublin area agreed to accept the deal.
A representative of An Post said, "At this stage it is utterly a union matter." The Blackrock branch of the CWU refused to accept its own union's instructions to return to normal work yesterday, she said.