Canada Post began rotating strike action on Monday in a few cities, and if there is no settlement reached in the dispute with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, this might escalate more and more.
Many Canadians might be scratching their heads, wondering if this would make as much difference as it used to, such as in years past when strike action would happen at very inopportune times, such as at Christmas time.
Actual letters may have dropped off from what it used to be, but Canada Post has been changing and reinventing itself to be relevant to the current reality, and have been getting into the parcel deliveries more and more as people do more shopping online than in years past.
There are also still some customers of utilities and other services that get their bills in the mail, not to mention delivery of such items as magazines. If this postal dispute goes on for any length of time, that may force people to change what they do.
There is a segment of the population who are not connected on the Internet and rely on Canada Post for things like bills and magazines as well as parcel delivery. Is it enough to warrant keeping Canada Post going, funded by federal tax dollars?
The evidence would seem to suggest there is still a place for Canada Post as this nation’s postal service, as long as it continues to evolve to keep its services relevant for people to continue using.
With that said, there are labour issues that need resolving, and are issues that have to be thrashed out in negotiations, and this always depends on the negotiators on both sides of the table.
One of the issues at hand has to do with the inequitable way women and rural carriers are paid compared to their urban counterparts, which affects some 8,000 rural carriers. There was a decision by an arbitrator that sided with the workers, so the question is whether Canada Post will abide by that or shelve it while there is the labour dispute going on with CUPW.
The corporation claims that actually paying women fairly would cost them $242 million, but one has to think this is a negotiating ploy worthy of a certain U.S. president. Pay equity in this day and age should not ever be an issue, it should be looked after properly, and women and rural carriers should not be underpaid. If Canada Post values their services to Canadians, these issues need to be resolved, or they may find themselves out of work for good.
