Decline in mail volumes a concern ahead of union seminar
The problems facing workers at An Post will be high on the agenda over the next two days, when the Communications Workers' Union holds its Spring Seminar in Portlaoise, Co Laois.
The union supports members from the postal, courier and technical divisions who are facing a variety of challenges ahead.
However with An Post facing financial difficulty and the prospect of post-office closures around the country, the union's general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick says there is no doubt that the postal sector is under pressure.
"There's been a huge loss in mail volumes over the last seven or eight years," he said.
"Over 40% of the mail has disappeared through electronic substitution and through the economic crisis, so we're trying to move more and more into packets and parcels, and that will change people's way of working and hours of attendance."
