The union representing Canada’s postal workers has called for a cross-country strike in the wake of the federal government announcing major reforms to Canada Post.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said it was “outraged and appalled” by the changes laid out Thursday.
“In response to the government’s attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nationwide strike,” CUPW said in a statement.
Joël Lightbound, the minister responsible for Canada Post, detailed a number of changes, including authorizing Canada Post to end home delivery. About four million addresses still receive that service.
Lightbound said Canada Post will also adjust how it delivers mail, so that non-urgent post can move by ground instead of air at a cost savings of $20 million annually.
The modernization plan also includes lifting the 1994 moratorium on closing rural post offices that covers nearly 4,000 locations — many of which the government says were once rural and have since become urban post offices.
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The government is arguing that the changes are necessary to keep the Crown corporation — which is on track to lose $1.5 billion in 2025 — afloat.
“The bottom line is this: Canada Post is effectively insolvent,” Lightbound said earlier Thursday.
“It provides an essential service to Canadians, and in particular to rural, remote and Indigenous communities, and Canadians are rightfully attached to it and want it saved. However, repeated bailouts from the federal government are not the solution.”
The Crown corporation has 45 days to submit a cost-savings plan to the government.
CUPW pushed back against the proposed changes and disputed that they’re needed to get Canada Post out of the red.
“The changes announced by the government, including converting four million addresses to community mailboxes, a reduction in mail delivery service standards and the abandoning of the rural moratorium, are drastic and will negatively impact the public and postal workers,” the union’s statement said.
CUPW argues that part of the corporation’s financial crunch is due to “uncertainty” around the ongoing labour dispute. Negotiations for a new collective agreement have been ongoing for more than a year and a half.
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A strike and lockout lasted more than a month during the busy holiday period last year, ending only after the labour minister asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order employees back to work.
Jim Gallant, a CUPW negotiator, told CBC’s Power & Politics that a new collective agreement would help stabilize Canada Post.
He suggested that a recent increase to stamp prices had already begun to bring in more revenue for Canada Post.
“We need something that’s sustainable, not a sunset industry, and it’s there and there’s money to be made,” he told host David Cochrane.
Canada Post union expects postal service to shut down in the next 24 hours
Earlier this month, the union said the government’s offer of a 13 per cent pay increase fell short of its demand for 19 per cent.
While the union said it was willing to work with Canada Post to allow weekend delivery and the addition of part-time workers, it said the corporation walked away from the negotiating table.
Canada Post, which has welcomed the government’s announcement, said late Thursday that the strike will effectively shut down most of its operations.
“The Corporation is disappointed that the union chose to escalate their strike activity, which will further deteriorate Canada Post’s financial situation,” Canada Post said in a statement.
The Crown corporation said that the union has agreed to some mail delivery, including government financial assistance.
Before the strike was announced, mail carriers told CBC News the government’s decision ignores the important work they do for their communities, and that they worry for residents along their routes.
“It’s a little sad that an institution that is kind of in everyone’s community will eventually wither away,” said Daniel Bryant, who has been a mail carrier in Toronto for 20 years.
Bryant says he gets to know the people along his route and performs wellness checks on residents in need. He’ll knock on their doors to chat, see how they’re doing and put them in contact with others if needed.
Helen Karrandjas, another Toronto postal worker, says the news makes her feel like Canada Post workers are seen only as delivery personnel.
A 2023 National Institute of Ageing white paper titled “Special Delivery” found that programs checking in on seniors have been successful in Japan, France and the Isle of Jersey, U.K., and suggested a similar program could be an additional revenue source for Canada Post.
Karrandjas said it feels like a “waste” not to use Canada Post’s nationwide community network to expand its services, rather than reduce them, at a time when the country’s population is aging.
“I’m a little bit baffled from that perspective,” she said.
