Postal Workers Persevere in Their Fight for
Their Rights and Dignity

Strike Enters Fourth Week

Calgary, December 4, 2024

The strike by the 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has entered its fourth week. Postal workers from coast to coast to coast continue to stand strong in defence of their right to improved wages, safety on the job, job security and protection of their pensions. Canada Post is trying to strip away health and safety protection for workers and turn secure jobs into precarious low paid gig jobs. Postal workers are determined to stop these attacks.

In communities across the country labour councils and provincial federations along with workers from many different unions have joined the postal workers' picket lines, along with small business owners and customers.

Negotiations between Canada Post and the Union, with a mediator appointed by the federal government, broke off on November 28 and since then there have been exchanges through the mediator. On December 1 Canada Post provided what it called a comprehensive framework, to which the Union responded with its own proposals on December 5.

Canada Post's response on December 6 to the Union's proposals contained "drastic changes and rollbacks that no union in the world would ever accept," CUPW reported.

CUPW spokesperson Jim Gallant in a televised interview with CTV News said, "Canada Post is moving in the opposite direction than we need to get to a negotiated collective agreement." Gallant said the company's proposal is not a matter of "one step back" but "multiple steps back."

The Union's response to Canada Post's "comprehensive framework" reiterated its four key issues: A wage increase to keep up with inflation; prioritization of workers' health and safety on the job, including getting rid of schemes like Separate Sort from Delivery (SSD) which increase the danger of injuries to workers who already suffer the second highest rate of disabling injury among workers under federal jurisdiction; maintenance of the defined-benefit pension plan for all Canada Post workers; and expansion of public postal services that postal operations in other countries have successfully operated for many years, including postal banking and electric vehicle charging stations.

Canada Post continues to attack the workers who are exercising their right to strike. At the outset of the strike it announced that benefits would be cut off, causing tremendous hardship to many workers, including denying payments for life-saving medications for workers and their families.

As well, although there is an agreement between Canada Post and the Union for the delivery of welfare and other social service payments during the strike, Canada Post has unilaterally imposed an impossible system for delivery of these payments which has led to delays. This is an effort to lessen public support for the strikers, which is failing as community members regularly join picket lines.

Canada Post has also issued layoff notices to some striking workers, without informing the Union of who is being laid off and why. Every effort is being made to bypass the Union and single out individual workers, to undermine the strike.

Postal workers joined by workers in all sectors of the economy, continue to show their determination to fight for their rights and dignity and keep Canada Post a public service for all Canadians. A public post office is vital for nation-building and protecting the interests of everyone in cities and rural areas as well.

All Out to Join the Picket Lines and Support the Postal Workers!