KAWARTHA LAKES- 55,000 Canada Post employees represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) began strike action today, resulting in a stoppage of mail and parcel delivery. It is unclear at this time how long this strike action will continue.
“After a year of bargaining with little progress, postal workers made the difficult decision to strike. Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day. Instead, Canada Post left us no choice when it threatened to change our working conditions and leave our members exposed to layoffs,” said CUPW in a statement issued on Friday.
Canada Post says customers will experience delays due to the strike activity. Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees will be impacted for items already in the postal network. No new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over.
All mail and parcels in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis once operations resume according to Canada Post. However, a national strike of any length could impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends. Shutting down facilities across the country will affect Canada Post’s entire national network. Processing and delivery may take some time to fully return to normal.
The Union says the main sticking points are wages and working conditions.
“Our demands are reasonable: fair wages, safe working conditions, the right to retire with dignity, and the expansion of services at the public post office. Postal workers are proud to serve their communities, and we want to do the job we love. A strike is a last resort. We still believe we can achieve negotiated collective agreements, but Canada Post must be willing to resolve our new and outstanding issues.”
