Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 238: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the efforts that have been made to improve labour relations in An Post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20374/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The full resources of the State's industrial relations machinery continue to be made available to management and unions to assist in resolving industrial relations issues at An Post. I have urged both sides to make full use of that machinery and I am pleased to say that progress has been made in regard to resolving many of these issues.

A recovery plan has been devised by An Post in consultation with the unions. A key element of the plan concerns the continuing implementation of a major change programme, throughout the company, to deliver significant cost savings and efficiencies. In regard to the non-payment of Sustaining Progress increases, in which An Post has invoked the "inability to pay" clause, it is open to the unions to refer this matter to the Labour Relations Commission, LRC, and ultimately the Labour Court where a binding ruling can be made. Following a hearing in the Labour Court in March 2005, the LRC appointed assessors to examine whether the company was correct to invoke the "inability to pay" clause. The assessors' report was presented to both parties in the LRC in early June. The key recommendation was for an increase of 5% backdated to 1 January 2005. An Post unions have not accepted this recommendation and the issue will now be referred to the Labour Court. An Post intends implementing the assessors' recommendation and will pay employees a 5% increase from the end of June 2005, backdated to 1 January 2005.