Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) who work for Canada Post have voted convincingly in favour of possible strike action in favour of strike action. Primarily, the reason for industrial action centres on workplace conditions for staff. One particular complaint from the union, related to ecommerce, was the burden of extra parcel volumes on postal workers making deliveries.
Strike ballots were held across Canada between August 7th and September 9th, and provisional numbers show 93.8% of urban workers and 95.9% of rural posties supported the union’s call for strike as contract renegotiations stalled over the summer. The CUPW will be in a legal strike position as of September 26th if no agreement can be found.
Over the last decade, the working conditions of all our members has deteriorated, leaving many overburdened, with little time for their home life. This ends now. Our members have spoken — this is the time to address serious workplace problems.
Our negotiators will continue to work with Canada Post to develop a fair agreement for all our workers, and we will not settle for less. Our membership has given us a clear mandate to take job action if Canada Post doesn’t come to the bargaining table ready to make some changes to give our workers fair working conditions and expanded services benefitting everyone.
– Mike Palecek, National President, CUPW
Canada Post said that it put a new offer on the table last Friday that takes into account the growth in parcel volume and offered wage and total compensation improvements.
The office of Canadian labour minister Patty Hajdu called on all parties to keep on talking and said the government had appointed federal mediators to assist with that process. As it stands at the moment no provisional dates for action have been set.
Should the industrial action go ahead, and experience shows that very often industrial action is successfully averted in many instances, it will impact anyone who is using the Canada Post delivery network. In particular, US merchants may feel the impact, but even if you’re shipping into Canada from further afield it’s possible your consignments will be delayed.
One Response
So if there’s a 2 month strike, and I’ve ordered something internationally from eBay , I still won’t notice, as it takes at least 90 days for any parcel to arrive – regardless of a strike.
Certainly won’t change CP shipping times.