A glance down the icy sidewalk in downtown Lloydminster is just one of the risks that Canada Post workers face as they take to the picket line to protest conditions of employment and what they term their employer’s failure to negotiate in good faith.
Some 55,000 Canada Post workers are on strike as of Friday, Nov. 15, as talks between the union and management have failed to reach an agreement after exactly a year of meetings.
“We have wanted to have this negotiation since COVID but for the public, we decided not to,” says Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) member, Jenna Wilson.
While Canada Post management is offering 11.5 per cent over four years, the union is asking for more.
“We have asked for 20 per cent over the next four years,” says Frank John Trach, another CUPW member.
Apart from fair wages tied to the cost of living, worker safety and retirement with dignity are also on the discussion table.
“A lot of it has to do with the safety of the workforce. Canada Post – people retire and they take their job out of the line but they post the work on to two or three other people. So, our health and welfare are in jeopardy,” says Trach.
With Canadians sending fewer letters and competition entering the parcel delivery market, Canada Post has racked up losses of $748 million in 2023. The union members responding to the losses that Canada Post has reported lay the blame on management.
“In reality, it’s an investment by the corporation, for the corporation. For example, the new processing plant ($470 million) in Ontario, the renovation of the West Coast processing plant, and purchases of expensive electric vehicles. They claim these as losses and not investment,” says Wilson.
In 2022, Canada Post committed to spending $1 billion to electrify its fleet by 2040.
“Management gets a thing called at-risk pay, which technically is a bonus. None of the on-the-ground people get any type of bonus,” says Trach.
Federal mediators are involved in trying to bring the two sides closer to an agreement and a special mediator has been appointed to aid that process.
With the Christmas rush knocking at the front door, mail and parcel deliveries are on hold for the next little while.
