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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 20 Mar 1991

Vol. 406 No. 7

Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Job Losses in An Post.

Michael Bell

Ceist:

14 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if his attention was drawn to the fact that 1,500 job losses would occur in An Post prior to or during the negotiations on the Programme for Economic and Social Progress; whether the programme makes any provision for job losses in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Arrangements for dealing with staff surplus to requirements are set out in Appendix B to the pay agreement which forms part of the programme. These arrangements were agreed in respect of the public service only and not the broader public sector. While An Post were not specifically mentioned in the programme, there was an awareness that An Post were facing difficult times.

The Minister evaded the question. There have been job losses amounting to 1,500 in An Post largely due to bad management decisions since they became a semi-State company. The workers are now expected to bear the brunt. In reply to a previous question, the Minister said he wanted to make the company viable but it has been proved beyond doubt that by shedding 800 jobs between 1989 and 1990——

Will the Deputy ask a supplementary question?

The company made a profit of £1.4 million in 1989 but, the following year, they suffered a loss of £3 million. The shedding of jobs will certainly not make the company viable.

I want to assist the Deputy to elicit information but we must proceed by way of supplementary questions and not by statements.

Unfortunately, there will be substantial redundancies in the Post Office.

How substantial? A total of 1,500 jobs will be lost in An Post plus the jobs which will be lost in sub-post offices and the downgrading of offices. When the Minister replied to Deputy Currie he referred to "retiring", what he is really talking about is the downgrading of class VI post offices throughout the country which in County Cork alone will lead to the loss of 21 jobs.

The Chair is anxiously awaiting questions.

In relation to the 1,500 workers in the public sector, will the Minister say whether there will be any breach of the guarantees given to them under the Postal and Telecommunications Act, 1983, if there are not sufficient voluntary redundancies? What about redeployment of those workers?

My understanding is that that would not be the case but I would have to take detailed legal advice on the point before I could confirm it to the Deputy.

Will the Minister agree that he is prepared to sacrifice the livelihood of postmen because it is politically expedient to save sub-post offices which are known to be riddled with Fianna Fáil sub-postmasters? Is he prepared to keep sub-post offices open because they are operated by small shopkeepers and self-employed business people? Would this not be a disgraceful road to go in balancing the books for An Post?

It is a pity to make an ideological point of this matter.

A Deputy

A political point.

Maybe an important point is that today we are going to hear——

(Interruptions).

Deputy Byrne asked some pertinent questions. Let us hear the Minister's reply.

It is a pity to make an ideological point. The manner in which sub-post offices work is that they are subcontracted to the Post Office. It is not because of the nature of the people who work in them that it was referred to NESC, it is because of the nature of the network throughout rural Ireland. That is the only purpose.

Is it more valuable to have the postman knocking and delivering the mail?

I am afraid we will have to proceed to Question No. 16.

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