Canada Post strikes
Posted Jun 3, 2011 1:43 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada Post workers are officially on strike.
About 150 workers in Winnipeg have taken to the picket line for the first in a series of rotating 24-hour strikes.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced plans to strike earlier on Thursday after a last-ditch attempt by the Crown corporation failed to head off job action.
The union is hoping the strike will encourage management to return to the bargaining table with a proposal that meets the needs of its members.
They expect to meet senior post office management on Friday. The union says it picked Winnipeg as the first rotating strike location because it was first city to feel the impact of Canada Post’s modernization program.
Canada Post has said it needs to address labour costs.
It notes the letter-mail business has fallen by more than 17 per cent since 2006 due to digital communications.
Businesses and charities have been preparing for a big financial hit because of the postal strike, while rival courier services have been making plans to accommodate a potential increase in customers.
Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says estimates the postal strike will cost small businesses between $200 and $250 daily.
