Draft Letters 
A draft letter for An Post workers to write to media seeking a government subvention to ensure the future of An Post. 
"Dermot Ahern and his cabinet colleagues have been very vocal about the current financial position of An Post and the immediate need to reduce costs. An Post has a social obligation imposed upon it from political sources of providing highly unprofitable postal and financial services for people in rural areas which it more than adequately meets and which it has to finance from its own resources. However when An Post tries address these costs by mentioning closure of certain rural post offices (due to lack of business or otherwise) or of roadside letter-boxes being put in place (it costs hell of a lot more than 48c to deliver a letter to an isolated rural dwelling) it is Minister Ahern and his colleagues – i.e. the local smart ass TDs of ALL political parties, trying to make a name for themselves – who are most vocal in their opposition to such measures.
When An Post seeks funding from central Government to continue providing the above mentioned – loss-making social services – which after all are POLITICAL DEMANDS – they have nothing to say except NO. A bit hypocritical don’t you think?
The Post Office Network is as much a social service in rural areas as CIE etc and should be funded accordingly as recommended in the Flynn report.
Any other commercial organisation, as we have seen with the banks would have ignored political opinion and would have withdrawn those services a long time ago. Those same politicians should put their money where their mouths are. If they want social services to be maintained, then they should be willing to pay for them instead of trying to score political points off An Post and its employees.
Yours Sincerely 
XX" 
Another draft letter for all An Post workers to write this time regarding the SDS 
"August 2004 
Dear Chairperson 
I am writing to you as an extremely concerned employee of An Post to seek clarification on a number of issues. Clarification I believe I am entitled to; both as an employee and a stakeholder of the business. As Chairperson of the Board of An Post, I further believe the onus is on you to provide this given that it has not been made available by An Post senior management. 
I am utterly appalled by An Post senior management’s handling of the closure (or rather “integration”) of SDS. At no stage were SDS staff or management given any indication of the “surprise” in store following the July Board meeting. To be drip fed information by way of the media is indeed a disgrace not to mention completely unprofessional. As was the slanderous content of the media reports targeted at staff by our own Chief Executive. A Chief Executive who; with no postal industry experience to speak of, indicated from day one his intention towards selling the SDS Naas Road site. How then could the pretentious effort to put through a Restructuring Plan succeed when it would not be allowed to even mature or produce results? 
An Post claimed an inability to pay the PPF now running at 5% because of financial difficulties; reinforced by publicly exaggerated and obscure figures. This is a bitter pill to swallow given that there have been at least ten Consultants called upon to dig the company out of a huge hole it has buried itself in. John Hynes left An Post with a “golden handshake” claiming the organisation was in good shape with forecasted profits of €1m. Within three months this forecast was dramatically revised to losses of over €40m by our current Chief Executive who is now exercising damage limitation by liquidating assets and cutting our jobs. The Chief Financial Officer who was embroiled in all the financial discrepancies continues to remain on the payroll on “sick leave” with a number of high salaried managers maintained under the guise of “projects”. There is a lot of nest feathering taking place at senior management level whilst the rest of us menials are left to take the flack. Perhaps if John Hynes returned his golden handshake and An Post employed adequate senior management instead of countless Consultants, the cost savings could be passed down the line to those more deserving? Additionally, as a semi-state organisation, government subvention is a necessity to safeguard the invaluable social and public services we provide. 
An Post has been mismanaged in the past and continues to be mismanaged. Even so, staff have remained loyal and supportive to an organisation, that for some, is very much part of their lives. We have adhered to the policies set down by the Sustaining Progress and Partnership Agreements but regrettably it seems somewhat pointless as it has not been reciprocated. 
I am angry, frustrated and disgusted. But most of all, I am an experienced and intelligent individual that would appreciate not being taken for a fool. This is not about apportioning blame but instead assuming responsibility. I do not accept the status quo or that I may lose my job but instead I request disclosure and justification of any rulings made by the An Post Board of (mis)management. 
I look forward to your response. 
Yours sincerely 
________________________ Signature 
Please print below your name and division in block capitals. 
NAME: DIVISION: