BARRY’S BAY – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has announced that, “effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nationwide strike.”
The announcement comes just hours after the federal government announced broad changes to mail service at Canada Post.
Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Joël Lightbound announced changes to letter mail delivery, community mailboxes and rural post office designation.
Canada Post will be able to change letter mail delivery standards, including transporting non-urgent mail by ground rather than air. The government authorized the Crown corporation to end home mail delivery and convert all remaining home delivery addresses to community mailboxes. The transition is expected to take up to nine years. Canada Post operates a delivery accommodation program. This allows people with mobility issues to get mail delivered weekly if they cannot get to a community mailbox and packages delivered daily. The service offers other accessibility accommodations, as well. The service will not be affected by the conversion to community mailboxes.
Most importantly for rural communities, the government is ending the moratorium on closing rural post offices. There are, roughly, 4,000 rural post office locations. A release from Lightbound’s office states, “areas that used to be rural may now be suburban or even urban but are still required to operate as rural post offices. Canada Post must return to the government with a plan to modernize and right-size its network.
The changes to letter mail delivery standards and elimination of home delivery is expected to save an estimated $420 million annually. The Crown corporation recently announced a second quarter loss of more than $400 million.
CUPW president Jan Simpson, in a media release, referred to the government’s announcement as a “slapdash approach” undertaken without public consultation and that it is, “an insult to the public and postal workers.”
Canada Post was set to make a new offer to the union in the coming days. Following the government announcement, according to the union media release, federal mediators told the union “Canada Post needs until next week to present new global offers.”
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