Canada Post rotating strike underway in Winnipeg
Posted Jun 3, 2011 7:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada Post workers are officially walking the picket lines in Winnipeg after the postal union failed to reach a deal with the Crown Corporation by midnight Thursday.
While mail service in Calgary has remained unaffected so far, Winnipeg is only the first city in a series of planned rotating strikes.
There are reports the next strike will be in Hamilton beginning Friday night for 48 hours.
The union is giving no confirmation as to what cities will be next; union member Lisa Peterson says that’s part of their strategy.
“It often does bring a little more attention to our discussions and brings that back to the negotiations with there being an uncertainty of what will happen next,” Peterson says.
The Winnipeg local union will be on strike for 24 hours.
If Calgary is eventually affected by a rotating strike, Canada Post letter and package delivery will be disrupted. However, arrangements have been made for the delivery of social assistance payments including government pension, welfare and child benefit cheques.
Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are striking as contractual talks have reached a stalemate in recent weeks.
Some of the major issues still dividing the two sides include wages and the potential for job cuts. Adding stress to the negotiations is the future of Canada Post itself. CUPW members and officials from the postal service are still trying to figure out where the future of postal service stands given the growing importance of electronic mailing.
Canada Post is trying to reduce costs in response to the flood of customers who have moved to online banking, e-mail, text messaging and Facebook. The number of letters handled by the Crown Corporation has dropped 17 per cent in the last five years, likely in response to the move to electronic communication.
“Already many people have moved, for example, their bill paying online, and moved away from traditional paper bills,” said Michael Mulvey, a marketing professor at the University of Ottawa. “This is just going to create an extra incentive for them to move things online.”
While the mailing figures are down, the CUPW is rejecting any talk of job cuts for its members. Meanwhile, Canada Post says the postal workers are out of touch with their wage demands.
It’s likely the shutdown of the mail service will not have a significant effect on everyone immediately; however, a lengthy work stoppage could affect the paying of bills. Small business operators who are reliant on postal service would likely be the hardest hit.
A number of charities are worried about the possibility of a strike, as many of them receive donations by mail.
Union members are expected to meet with Canada Post officials on Friday to continue discussions.
