KAGAWONG—Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has launched a national strike that has shut down postal services due to the Canadian government outlining that door-to-door delivery will end for virtually all Canadian households within the next decade. The introduction of more community mailboxes and the shuttering of some rural post offices will permanently affect the way many people receive their mail in the future.
“I am going to have to depend on my neighbours to get my mail for me,” stated Ed Burt of Kagawong to the proposed sweeping changes. “I can’t get it myself; I don’t drive.” Currently, he receives mail through a rural mail carrier.
“I may lose my home rural mail delivery, and just after I got the best mailbox I’ve ever had,” stated Mr. Burt. “I’m reliant on Canada Post delivering my mail, but it looks like maybe I will have to rely on my neighbours to pick up my mail in the future.”
“I think back years ago when Canada Post had the best system going. They had good buildings in every community and moved all the mail in the country,” said Mr. Burt. “Because it is a government owned corporation, they didn’t make any fast moves and corporations like Purolator came in and took on delivering more packages as time went by. They shouldn’t have been able to compete and take over anything from Canada Post. Now there are all kinds of different mail delivery services in place other than Canada Post,” said Mr. Burt.
“Canada Post is the victim of its own failure,” said Mr. Burt. “When companies like Purolator moved in, Canada Post should have been able to do better and provide improved services. They had it all—all the infrastructure including beautiful buildings, but something went wrong, and now these other folks (companies) seem able to provide the services better than CP.”
“Look at the post offices in Gore Bay and Little Current, years ago they were the best buildings in their towns,” said Mr. Burt. “But this all slipped through their fingertips.”
“And now, it’s quite a thing for (CUPW) to go on strike for more money when the corporation is already down and they are not making it financially. It would be better to have the books balanced before asking for higher wages,” continued Mr. Burt. “Canada Post is in a rock and a hard place.”
CUPW announced on September 25 it has launched a national strike following the government announcement on Canada Post’s transformation. Canada Post’s operations will shut down during a national strike, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses across the country.
Public Works and Procurement Minister Joel Lightbound announced last week he ordered sweeping changes in an effort to make the Crown corporation financially viable.
These changes will include slowing down the frequency of mail delivery and shuttering some post offices. The minister said the federal government is accepting all of the recommendations of an Industrial Inquiry Commission’s report on Canada Post, which also called for the introduction of more community mailboxes.
Minister Lightbound told Canadian Press that Canada Post is now facing an existential crisis financially. “Repeated bailouts from the federal government is not the solution.” He said Canada Post needs to change to achieve financial sustainability and maintain reliable service.
The change to mail delivery is expected to increase the time it takes Canada Post to deliver letter mail from an average of three to four days to an average of three to seven days, reported CP. Four million Canadians will also see their service switch from door-to-door delivery to a community mailbox model. Minister Lightbound said more than three in four households don’t have door-to-door delivery now, but there has been a moratorium in place on expanding the use of community mailboxes. However, that moratorium is ending, he said.
Canada Post has 45 days to come back to the federal government with a plan to implement the changes.
In a media statement released on Wednesday of last week, CUPW said they had not been informed the announcement on the sweeping changes was coming and did not know the details.
Canadian Press reported that after newly two years of negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW on a new contract, the two sides are showing few signs of progress. The parties have been far apart on wages and on restructuring the collective agreement to allow for corps of part-time workers and weekend delivery.
“The timing of the announcement coupled with new global offers could reveal a lot about Canada Post’s plans for bargaining, our jobs and the future of the public post office,” CUPW national president Jan Simpson said in a media statement last week. “If Canada Post drops its demands to gut the contracts and deal with our issues, we can come to an agreement quickly. If they ignore the overwhelming vote to reject the vision from the employees that do the work, they are proving they have no intention to achieve negotiated collective agreements.”
Customers should expect delays with the strike. Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike. Service guarantees are suspended for items already in the postal network. No new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over, including for subscribers of The Expositor.
All mail and parcels in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume. However, a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians and businesses well after the strike activity ends. Processing and delivery may take some time to fully return to normal.
Delivery of socio-economic cheques will continue during the disruption. Canada Post and CUPW have agreed to continue the delivery of socio-economic cheques during any labour disruptions, for eligible and participating government organizations. The agreement ensures government financial assistance delivered by mail will reach seniors and other Canadians who rely on it.
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