Postal workers in Amherstburg joined their colleagues nationwide in hitting the picket lines last Friday morning.
Workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) went on strike early Friday, with unionized employees picketing out front of the Amherstburg Post Office.
“We’ve been in negotiations with little progress,” said Dan Sutton, the local CUPW media representative. “We’re looking for fair wages and the right to retire with dignity.”
According to national reports, health benefits and paid sick days are also issues involved in the negotiations.
Sutton said the last contract came into effect in 2018 and expired in 2022. At that point, Sutton said the corporation approached the union and asked for a two-year extension, which the union agree to, but not overwhelmingly.
“When we agreed to this extension, the corporation was very aware we had demands on the table,” said Sutton.
Those demands are still there and new demands have also arisen in the two years since.
Negotiations have not gone well, Sutton added, and he said the corporation wants to go to a part-time model with lower wages. Pensions would be weakened for new hires and that would also be detrimental to current members, he stated.
Reductions to wages and staffing will not be tolerated, according to Sutton.
A strike mandate by urban workers and RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) passed by a 95 per cent vote, he said.
Sutton called the strike “a last resort” and said the union is “willing to do what it takes” to achieve a fair contract. He stated having good paying jobs with good pensions has community benefits as well.
Items such as postal banking, providing EV charges and other service expansions are items the union is open to, he stated.
There are approximately 55,000 CUPW workers on the picket lines across Canada with about 20 working out of the Amherstburg Post Office.
According to Canada Post’s website, the company said in a headline to a Nov. 15 post “CUPW announces national strike that will cause service delays for Canadians.”
“Canada Post’s operations will shut down during a national strike, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses across the country,” the company’s 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.”
Canada Post adds: “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. 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.”
In a post back on Nov. 5, the company stated “Canada Post is at a critical juncture. To better serve customers in today’s dynamic ecommerce market, significant change is required to our delivery model. If we don’t change, the company will fall further behind. That’s why we’re negotiating a more flexible delivery model that would allow affordable seven-day-a-week parcel delivery, with more competitive pricing and other important service improvements for our customers. A flexible delivery model will improve Canada Post’s services for customers and help the company grow the business. Creating delivery flexibility is essential to being able to afford what we’ve put forward for current employees. Under our balanced approach, current employees would make gains and not lose ground on what matters most to them. Our proposals for current employees include wage increases, enhanced leave entitlements, and protection of their defined benefit pension and job security provisions.
The company has also proposed that employees hired in the future would receive a competitive compensation package that would include a less costly approach to pension and benefits, including in post-retirement.”
By Ron Giofu
Local postal workers hit the picket lines as part of national strike
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