Concern over outsourcing at An Post

Workers in the customer services section of An Post are concnered that they may be outsourced in the future

An Post customer services workers are worried that they will be permanently outsourced following a temporary outsourcing which occurred in early November 2005. On 7 November, the customer services department of An Post took part in an 18-hour stoppage at the GPO. When they returned to work they found that the work had been outsourced. An Post maintain that they were forced to outsource the work as the workers broke a 1999 agreement whereby the Communications Workers Union (CWU) had agreed that customer services would not take part in any industrial action.

An Post say: "The agreement includes a crystal clear clause which states that the area would continue to work normally in the event of any industrial dispute." The CWU maintain that they understood from the agreement that customer services would stay out of a dispute only if it took place in other parts of the country or in other parts of the company.

The outsourcing continued for three weeks, even though the customer services workers had returned to work after 18 hours. This created a situation where An Post was paying their workers and an external company for a customer services department. An Post say they had to continue to outsource during these three weeks as the unions failed to give assurances that there would be no further industrial action.

According to a source: "the employees still feel very vulnerable and very unsure, and feel that there are plans to eliminate customer services totally." An Post say: "There are no plans to outsource the service provided the CWU abides by the 1999 agreement."

It is claimed that An Post outsourced to SWS in Clonakilty – the same company used by Independent News and Media when they permanently outsourced their customer services department. An Post said: "The location of the external centre is a matter for An Post."

An Post and CWU are due to go to the Labour Relations Commission to discuss the industrial action undertaken by the customer services department in early November and the dispute surrounding the 1999 agreement.

Emma Browne