Should We Be Preparing for a Canada Post Strike?

[teenytrinkets]

Is anyone closely following strike negotiations?

I'll likely have Time Away scheduled to avoid any Strike mayhem, but wondering what will happen to any lettermail/ packages that are already in the "stream". Will they sit at a depot/DC or on a truck for the duration, or will they likely have a rotating strike and keep moving things along with just delays?

[marnotom!]

And as Canada Post users and shareholders, we're still paying the salaries of Canada Post executives and management.

[tellephoto]

Canada gov't moves to put an end to postal workers' strike

Meanwhile, in the UK the Post Office is getting fined for not delivering on time.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/royal-mail-fined-10-500-000-for-failing-to-deliver-parcels-on-t...

[marnotom!]

Fun fact: Royal Mail was privatized (privatised?) in 2013.

[mrdutch1001]

 perhaps food for thought for all those who think privatization is the solutuion for Canada Post, when the reality is privatization does not get rid of any or all possible resulting issues/problems/dilemmas that may arise at any time...

[tellephoto]

The best solution is for the Postal workers not to have the ability to strike. They are classed as an essential service.  Let them bargain at the table as long as it takes for them to get a fair deal.  But do that without holding the rest of Canada as hostages.

[tellephoto]

Government Intervention Tramples On Workers’ Rights

Friday December 13 2024

2023-2027/186

No. 67

This order continues a deeply troubling pattern in which successive federal governments have used back-to-work legislation or, in this case, its arbitrary powers to let employers off the hook from bargaining in good faith. What employer would move on anything when they know the government will bail them out? Once again, the government has chosen capital over workers by taking away our leverage to get a good deal.

What we Know

This is a rapidly developing situation, and we have yet to receive the order. What we do know is that postal workers could be forced to return to work without new negotiated collective agreements in place. 

Once we receive the order, we will review it and consider every available option moving forward.

We have been informed a Canada Industrial Relations Board hearing will be held shortly, possibly as early as this weekend.

Where we stand

We have been out on the streets for nearly a month, Canada Post has sat on our latest offer for five days with no response to us – so why this move by the government now?

We are going to continue to fight hard to get good negotiated collective agreements for our 55,000 members. We will continue to fight for fair wages, safe working conditions and to retire with dignity. We have been pushing Canada Post for years to expand services to generate more revenue.

We must stand strong in the face of this abuse of power. Please stay alert for more information in the coming days.

This is far from over.

In solidarity,

Jan Simpson

National President

[flipistics]

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@tellephoto wrote:

The best solution is for the Postal workers not to have the ability to strike. They are classed as an essential service.  Let them bargain at the table as long as it takes for them to get a fair deal.  But do that without holding the rest of Canada as hostages.

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The problem with that is that there'd be little incentive for a side to negotiate.

When a strike happens again in May, hopefully there will be some sort of mandate in place for partial services to keep functioning. Maybe the post offices are only open for 2 hours a day and will only accept and deliver parcels going to remote locations and machinable business lettermail.  Lettermail would be delivered 1 day a week during the strike. That would mean things like cheques, passports, health cards, drivers licenses, etc which are critical would still move and northern communities wouldn't be completely cut off, but there would still be a real impact to the strike (it would correctly affect the corporation and the union more than people).

[tellephoto]

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@flipistics wrote:

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The problem with that is that there'd be little incentive for a side to negotiate.

I don't see that as a problem. The Union should not have the advantage of holding Canadians hostage to pressure Canada Post in labour talks.  Let them have fair talks, and if it goes nowhere, then have binding arbitration.  I see another strike in May 2025.  The Union and Canada Post are too far apart in what each side wants.  They have already been going at it for just under a year with no change.  Even now 29 days have passed with no change.  Even with the Union using Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Christmas, nothing has changed.  Oh wait, something has changed the Canadian public are the losers in all of this. Small Business, Charities, Passports, remote Communities, Indigenous people and the list goes on. 55,000 vs millions.

[tellephoto]

OTTAWA — Mail will begin moving again on Tuesday as Canada Post employees return to work for the first time in more than a month after the federal government pushed to end the stoppage.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the 55,000 picketing employees back to work within days if the tribunal determines a deal isn't doable before the end of the year.

Canada Post said Sunday night that after two days of hearings over the weekend, an impasse was declared by the board. It says union members have been ordered back to work under their existing contracts, which have been extended until May to allow the bargaining process to resume. In the meantime, Canada Post says it has agreed with the union to implement a five per cent wage increase, retroactive to the day after the collective agreements expired. Business groups had been calling on the government to intervene as companies and individuals scrambled to find alternative modes of delivery with the holiday shopping season in full swing.

[tellephoto]

The Fight Goes On…

Monday December 16 2024

2023-2027/188

No. 69

After almost five weeks of a nationwide strike, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), under the direction of the Minister of Labour, has stripped the right to strike from postal workers. Legal strike action ends at 8:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, but the fight goes on.

We are asking our members to return to their regularly scheduled shifts as of 8:00 a.m. local time on December 17, 2024, and await further instructions.

You will find below an excerpt of the CIRB decision ordering our members not to prevent the preparation of the workplace.

”2. Employees in the CUPW UPO and CUPW RSMC bargaining units represented by CUPW are directed not to prevent the preparations of the employer for the resumption of its operations;”

We understand that members want to hold the line until the last minute to show our disgust with what is currently happening. Contravening this order may push the employer to go back to the CIRB for enforcement of their decision. In our opinion, we have the right to question the Employer to ensure that the Employer's access to the facilities is justified and is required to prepare for the resumption of the operations. Our obligation would be limited to allowing them access for that purpose only.

All options remain under consideration to achieve negotiated collective agreements that prioritize fair wages, improved health and safety, the ability to retire with dignity, and the democratic right to free collective bargaining.

In solidarity,

Jan Simpson

National President, on behalf of the National Executive Board

[tellephoto]

Resuming operations: Important information for customers

Canada Post will restart operations on Tuesday, December 17 and begin the process of safely ramping up and stabilizing operations across the country. With our large, integrated network of processing plants, depots and post offices, stabilizing operations will take time and we ask for your patience as we do this safely.

We will start by working through the mail and parcels trapped in the system since the strike began on November 15. New commercial volumes will not be accepted into the network until Thursday, December 19. This means we will not pick up or accept mail or parcels at our plants or depots for the first 48 hours. These first 2 days will give us the time we need to safely reopen facilities, restart machines and vehicles that have been idle for weeks and begin working through the volumes in our network.

As new volumes are accepted, mail and parcels will be secured and delivered on a first-in, first-out basis. Customers should expect delivery delays through the remainder of 2024 and into January 2025.

What this means for your business

To help your business better plan and prepare, here is some information on what you can expect in the days ahead:

Parcels

•	Customers should expect delays and restrictions as we stabilize our operations, including for pickups, drop-offs and delivery.

•

Scheduled pickups will start on December 19, but it will take several days to process items. We will make a best effort to collect all items at the time of the pickup; if that is not possible due to volumes or equipment availability, we will return to pick up the remaining items either the same day or next day.

•	On-demand pickups will not be available until Monday, December 23.

On-time service guarantees

•	Service guarantees are suspended as the company ramps up operations.

•	Once the network is stabilized, we will notify you when on-time service guarantees are reinstated.

Return labels and call-for items

•	All return labels created on or after November 15 will remain valid for up to 45 days until our operations stabilize.

•	We will also restart the clock on all items currently held for customer pickup at post offices, regardless of whether the office was open or closed during the strike.

•	Beginning December 17, your customers will have 15 days to pick up their parcel before it is returned to the sender.

Package Redirection

•	If you leveraged Package Redirection during the strike, we will do our best to locate and redirect your parcel. However, our ability to fulfill Package Redirection requests will be limited until operations stabilize.

International mail and parcels

•	Canada Post will work to process a significant accumulation of international mail and parcels currently queued up to enter the postal system.

•	Customers should expect delays into 2025.

•	The postal system will start accepting new international mail on Monday, December 23.

Neighbourhood Mail

•	Date-specific Neighbourhood MailTM is not currently available. The service will resume once our operations and volumes have stabilized.

•	We will notify you as soon as we are able to resume date-specific Neighbourhood Mail.

•	All other Neighbourhood Mail in our system will be delivered as upon receipt.

Transaction Mail

•	Service standards for Transaction Mail will be affected in the short term.

•	Transaction Mail trapped in the network by the strike will be processed and delivered on a first-in, first-out basis.

•	We will work to move new volume as quickly as possible.

•	We will notify you when service standards return to normal.