OTTAWA, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 55,000 postal workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) went on a nationwide strike on Friday.
The union issued a statement at midnight saying that after a year of bargaining with little progress, postal workers made the difficult decision to strike.
Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day, said the CUPW.
“A strike is a last resort,” the CUPW said.
The demands listed by the CUPW are fair wages, safe working conditions, the right to retire with dignity, and the expansion of services at the public post office.
Negotiated collective agreements could be achieved but Canada Post must be willing to resolve the new and outstanding issues, the CUPW added.
The strike action comes ahead of Black Friday and the beginning of the holiday season, when Canadians rely on the postal service to send and receive gifts, packages and cards.
Canada Post said in a statement early Friday that its operations will shut down, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses.
Mail and parcels, the Crown corporation said, will not be processed or delivered during the strike, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees will be affected for items already in the postal network and no new items will be accepted.
Once operations resume, the corporation said, mail and parcels will be delivered on a first-come, first-serve basis, but “a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends.”
Workers gave Canada Post 72-hour notice on Tuesday, as the Crown corporation warned that a potential strike would further impact its already dire financial situation.
Canada Post served the union with a lockout notice not long after, but said it didn’t intend to lock workers out. — NNN-AGENCIES