Postal operations have ground to a halt as thousands of CUP-W workers across the country hit the picket lines overnight.
Many post offices are closed outright and the union doubts that even retail outlets with postal kiosks inside, such as Shoppers and Lawton’s, will be accepting mail.
Mike Browne, vice-president of CUP-W in St. John’s, was on the lines outside the Kenmount postal station.
He says they will not stop the delivery of essential cheques such as social assistance and old age pensions.
A FedEx truck passes striking postal workers this morning. (VOCM News)
Browne says there were several stumbling blocks in the negotiations with Canada Post including the pension plan.
He says the company wanted to go with defined contribution setup instead of defined benefits. Defined contribution would leave pensioners with fluctuating monthly incomes.
The strike is expected to have a bigger impact on rural areas as delivery options are not as broad-ranging.
Meanwhile, Canada Post says it’s disappointed with the union’s decision to take strike action.
The corporation says the decision will have “a significant and immediate impact” on Canadians, small business and charities that rely on postal delivery.
Canada Post claims it has lost $3 billion since 2018, but despite that offered workers what they call “competitive wage increases” of 11.5 per cent over four years.
The corporation is also putting forward proposals to offer seven-day-a-week parcel deliver at competitive rates, something it says is essential for the future of Canada Post.
Officials say all mail and parcels currently in the postal network will be secured, and delivered “as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis once operations resume.”
