UPDATED: Canada Post workers on strike, no new items being accepted

In a Nov. 24 statement, Canada Post said although negotiations continue with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), progress has been limited.

“We’ve been trying to move forward with urgency on changes to our delivery model that would provide weekend delivery and more flexible staffing during the week,” Canada Post said in a statement. “The union has been focused for the last 24 hours on workers they don’t represent – like hiring away the cleaning staff from our contracted cleaning service and making them full-time Canada Post employees and pushing back on any changes to the pay and benefits of people we’ll hire in the future.”

The CUPW responded to Canada Post’s claim that it was focusing on cleaning staff during negotiations, saying on Nov. 26 that it was an “outright misinterpretation.”

“CUPW negotiators instead worked on a response to Canada Post’s latest weekend delivery proposal, which was only presented late Friday,” the union said in a statement. “The employer’s proposal would see Canada Post hire part-time employees for Saturday only delivery, who would only have eight hours of scheduled work per week. Who can live off that?”

Approximately 55,000 postal workers represented by the CUPW officially went on strike Nov. 15 at 12:01 a.m. after negotiations with Canada Post failed to reach a new agreement.

“After a year of bargaining with little progress, postal workers made the difficult decision to strike,” CUPW said in a release. “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.”

CUPW said its demands are reasonable, which include fair wages, safe working conditions, the right to retire with dignity and the expansion of services at the public post office.

“We still believe we can achieve negotiated collective agreements, but Canada Post must be willing to resolve our new and outstanding issues,” the CUPW said.

CUPW also released a statement Nov. 25, saying Canada Post was contacting its members to lay them off.

“While some are saying it is temporary, we’ve heard stories that it may be more permanent. These types of phone calls are merely a scare tactic by management,” the CUPW statement said, urging its members not o panic and to request a record of employment and estimated date of return in order to allow them to apply for employment insurance benefits.

“The union will deal with all violations of the Canadian Labour Code and Collective Agreement should it come into play.”

Canada Post said its operations will shut down during the national strike, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses across the country, and that it is disappointed with the decision.

“This decision will have a significant and immediate impact on millions of Canadians, small businesses and charities who count on Canada Post during the busy holiday season. As well, a national strike by CUPW means service to remote and Northern regions that rely on Canada Post is shut down,” Canada Post said in a release. “Understanding the importance of the service we provide, Canada Post had informed the union, and our customers, that we would continue operating and maintain service in the event of rotating strikes while discussions continue. We are committed to remaining at the table to negotiate new collective agreements.”

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. However, a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends, said Canada Post.

“Shutting down facilities across the country will affect Canada Post’s entire national network,” Canada Post said in a release. “Processing and delivery may take some time to fully return to normal.”

Canada Post said after 10 days of the strike, it is down million of parcels and are entering a busy Black Friday online shopping week are are effectively still shut down.

Canada Post said it and CUPW have agreed to continue the delivery of socio-economic cheques during any upcoming labour disruption, 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.

Socio-economic cheques for the month of November will be delivered Nov. 20. Canadians will receive their cheques the same way they normally receive their mail.