Rotating Canada Post strikes started in Newfoundland Friday as roughly 375 workers walked out facilities in the St. John’s region at 8 a.m. this morning.
The union and the postal service have been unable to reach new collective agreements for two bargaining units after 10 months of negotiations.
Craig Dyer, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers St. John’s local, says there are several local issues outstanding in addition to those at the national level.
Locally, the union is seeking equity for its rural and suburban mail carriers to match their urban counterparts; proper staffing, work schedules and program of duties for Group 1 workers; and addressing the forced overtime, overburdened routes and working in the dark required of letter carriers.
“St. John’s Postal Workers take great pride in their job and do it well, and they would much rather be working than on the picket line today,” Dyer stated in a release, “but Canada Post has left these workers no choice and we need these issues corrected to move forward.”
Canada Post says it has provided “significant” offers to its employees, including wage hikes, but CUPW says it falls far below expected cost-of-living increases.
CUPW is also conducting strikes in Moncton, N.B., Hamilton, Ont., and Regina, Sask, and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. today.
Since October 22, Canada Post says the rotating strikes have shut down Canada Post’s operations in more than 60 communities across the country.
