Postal strike to spread across Canada, delivery curtailed

Postal services across Canada are beginning to feel the pinch of rotating strikes, although this post office in Kuujjuaq, like others in the North, remain open and continue to accept and deliver mail. On Tuesday, Canada Post said Canadians were mailing as little as half of their average amount since postal workers first went on strike last week. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

LAURA BAZIUK
Postmedia News

More than 800 postal workers hit the picket lines across the country Wednesday night, as their union stepped up pressure on Canada Post.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said the locals going on strike are Labrador City, N.L., Acadie-Bathurst, N.B., Summerside, P.E.I., Ste. Therese and St. Jerome in Quebec, Thunder Bay, Ont., Hearst, Ont., Brantford, Ont., St. Thomas, Ont., Flin Flon, Man., Yellowknife, Whitehorse and Vernon, B.C.

The action marks a major addition to the one-day rotating strikes the union has enacted in a handful of Canadian cities since last Friday.

“We need to maintain and create good jobs, not cut back on jobs in our communities,” said CUPW president Denis Lemelin in a statement. “Smaller communities also benefit from having access to increased services at their post offices. We are asking Canada Post to address these demands.”

The union said the strike will begin at 11: 30 p.m. and last for 24 hours. It will continue its rotating strikes to “put pressure on Canada Post’s negotiators to settle an acceptable collective agreement.”

The widespread job action came in the wake of Canada Post announcing on Wednesday it will reduce staff and mail delivery in urban areas as a result of the rotating strikes.

“We need to take immediate action to make sure we contain our costs,” Canada Post spokesperson Anick Losier told Postmedia News.

On Tuesday, the Crown corporation said Canadians were mailing as little as half of their average amount since postal workers first went on strike last week.

In response, the Crown corporation will cut back service. Along with fewer staff in plants, mail in urban areas will be delivered only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Delivery in rural areas, parcels and pickup services will not be affected. Post offices will remain open as usual.

“Canadians are really going to start to feel it next week,” Losier said.