Solidarity with striking postal workers

More than 55,000 postal workers are on strike across Canada. They are fighting for wage increases to keep up with the cost of living, to end attacks on benefits and to save jobs. 

 

The bosses at Canada Post Corporation are also trying to roll back earned vacation days, something that is completely illegal. They are also planning to cut benefits, hours and jobs. 

 

After a year of negotiations, the employer refused to budge on any of those items forcing the union to call for a strike vote. The workers responded by voting 95% in favour of a strike.

 

According to the Postal Workers union, CUPW “Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day. Instead, Canada Post left us no choice when it threatened to change our working conditions and leave our members exposed to layoffs. Our demands are reasonable: fair wages, safe working conditions, the right to retire with dignity, and the expansion of services at the public post office.”

 

In a recent bargaining update, the union said "The Urban Unit continued to focus on weekend delivery. As always, the Union’s priority is to ensure stability for our full-time weekday routes. We need to make sure that all jobs at the public post office are good jobs. We won’t let Canada Post pit current workers against future workers."

 

Canada Post wants to hire more part-timers & this means no guarantee of a livable wage or stable full-time jobs. CUPW is trying to protect full-time jobs now and for future workers. 

 

The same is true for the pension plan. Currently, workers have a Defined Benefit (DB) plan. Canada Post says it will 'protect' the DB plan and 'offer' new employees a much less stable Defined Contribution plan. Also of note, Canada Post has been on a pension vacation since 2023 and is saving millions each month not paying into it. Since last year, the workers have been the only ones paying into the pension plan.

 

The federal government has appointed a mediator to try and resolve the dispute, a strategy which usually favours the employer. This is part of a pattern we are seeing where bosses refuse to negotiate in good faith and then call on government authorities to step in. 

 

Postal workers deserve our support. They were heralded as heroes for working during the pandemic lockdowns yet they have watched as their standard of living drops amid huge inflationary pressures. Many hundreds of workers have been on the job for years and are still kept in low wage part-time positions with no benefits, sick days or pensions. 

 

The postal service should be seen as a utility that provides a vital and essential service for all Canadians. It should be protected and the workers paid fairly. 

 

What can you do to help?

Victory to the postal workers!