The Communications Workers' Union (CWU) has called for "a root and branch examination" of the communications regulator Comreg and its impact on telecoms and postal services.
Speaking at the union's biennial delegate conference in Killarney today CWU general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick said Comreg was not defending or supporting universal services for post and telecoms and was " thereby failing to honour its statutory obligations to protect these vital public services".
He said: “The universal service obligation for both postal and telecoms services recognises the vital role that these viable services play in social cohesion and economic growth, particularly among small businesses and in rural areas where the ‘draw of the market’ is failing vulnerable communities.”
He said it was essential for rural Ireland and business that postal services were protected and allowed to grow.
