Staff shortage strikes Iqaluit post office

MIRIAM HILL

IQALUIT — Iqaluit’s post office closed for an hour in the middle of the day yesterday and today because of a staffing shortage.

The post office shut its doors from 1 to 2 p.m. each day.

David Craig, Canada Post area manager for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, said the postal service was caught between a rock and a hard place.

“It’s not something that we want to do. We’ve tried everything that we can to keep it from happening,” he said. “But the staff really feel that they need a break because it’s going to be hectic, and I can’t blame them for that.”

Craig explained that in the last few months three long-term Canada Post staff in Iqaluit quit and casual workers were hired to replace them.

The acting postmaster was to go on holidays yesterday, which would have left a new trainee on her own. Also, Craig said, he was notified this week another employee was going off on sick leave.

Craig said a Canada Post employee is flying up from Ottawa to help out in Iqaluit on Monday and Tuesday so that two workers will be behind the counter at all times.

Initially the post office was going to close from noon to 1 p.m. yesterday, today, and next Monday and Tuesday, but Canada Post decided to push back the closure times to a less busy hour.

Craig said another full-time employee is leaving at the end of July, and Canada Post is struggling to find qualified applicants.

Joby Prazak, acting postmaster for Iqaluit, said there are currently three full-time and two part-time employees at the post office.

She said a few customers have left phone messages complaining about the closures but none have approached her in person.

Craig said customers won’t notice much reduction in service, as the mail will still be processed and the counter will still be open except during the hour-long breaks.