Workers in Cork march against closure of An Post centre

Workers at the An Post mail sorting centre in Cork, which is due to shut down with the loss of more than 200 jobs, have taken to the streets of the city to campaign against its closure.

The Cork Mail Centre Action Group claims the job losses can be avoided, if An Post converts the facility to handle parcels.

An Post announced at the end of last month that it is to close its letter sorting centre at Little Island in Cork by next March.

Three weeks on, the news is sinking in... and the workers are fighting back.

They say they will resist the closure. Instead, they want An Post to convert the Cork Mail Centre from sorting letter to parcels, where online shopping means business is booming.

Because of her age, Geraldine Byrne says she will receive €24,000 less in redundancy than a colleague who started on the same day as her.

Partners John Ahern and Deirdre Jones are a couple working at the Cork Mail Centre and both stand to lose their jobs.

This afternoon, the Cork Mail Centre Action Group held a march through Cork City centre, appealing for public support.

An Post acknowledges that this is a difficult time for workers at the Cork Mail Centre, but says it is engaging on a one-to-one basis with each employee affected.

And while it plans to close the facility by next March, it insists that options other than job losses are being explored, such as re-deployment within the company and funding for a return to education and training.

Source: RTE

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