Frustrations are mounting among consumers and small business owners as a countrywide strike of Canada Post workers enters its third week, with little sign that the postal service and the union representing these workers are close to reaching a deal.
Negotiations for a new collective agreement were suspended on Wednesday, after a government-appointed mediator said that Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers remained too far apart at the bargaining table. A critical stumbling block is the structure of parcel delivery on weekends: Canada Post wants to drastically increase the number of part-time workers to conduct weekend delivery, a move that CUPW opposes.
The work stoppage coincides with the holiday shopping season, which kicked into higher gear on Black Friday. Many retailers book a large chunk of their sales over the next four weeks and some are wholly reliant on Canada Post for shipments, so the strike could prove devastating to their businesses.
In Greenwood, B.C., a remote town close to the U.S. border, small business owner Desiree King said the timing of the strike will probably result in her losing roughly 50 per cent of her annual revenue. Ms. King runs Jewel Creek Gallery and Antiques, an antique and art store that has a physical location but generates most of its revenue from online sales. Ms. King has been unable to ship any items to customers since Nov. 15, when the strike began.
“The issue is we are in a small town. There are no other carriers here except Canada Post. So we ended up having to refund many people and we are losing out on the critical holiday season period,” she said.
Ms. King acknowledged how important Canada Post workers are to her business, but said that she wished the strike had taken place at another time.
CUPW has a long history of striking. The previous two labour stoppages took place in the summer and ended when back-to-work legislation was imposed by the federal government. The 2011 strike lasted two weeks and the 2018 strike lasted a month.
Canada Post strike updates and what’s happening with holiday mail and packages
One of the most important strikes in CUPW’s history took place in 1981 and centred on improved maternity leave benefits for postal workers. The strike lasted 42 days and resulted in 17 weeks of paid maternity leave, setting a new standard for parental benefits that was eventually adopted by both unionized and non-unionized workplaces across the country.
“Strikes are meant to be disruptive to draw attention to the issues workers are fighting for,” said Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University. Dr. Ross explained that this particular negotiation is difficult to resolve because it is about the structure of Canada Post’s work force. “We are at the stage where both sides are trying to up the pressure on each other in terms of the costs of the strike.”
Tensions escalated this week between Canada Post and CUPW over layoff notices handed out to some workers. Canada Post confirmed the layoffs, saying that they were “temporary” and due to the strike’s impact on the corporation. Canada Post has said it has missed out on delivering more than 10 million parcels since the strike commenced two weeks ago. The 55,000 postal workers on strike get a daily strike pay of $56.20, an amount significantly lower than their regular wages.
David Doorey, a professor of labour law at York University, said he was unsure what Canada Post might achieve by laying off workers. He pointed out that under the Canada Labour Code, it is illegal to lay off or even to threaten to lay off employees because they exercised their legal right to strike.
In Montreal, Tricia Robinson, an artist and illustrator who runs an e-commerce business selling her artwork, said that none of her online purchases could be sent because she is solely reliant on Canada Post. “I visit my local Canada Post office twice a week, and this time of the year is my busiest.”
But Ms. Robinson believes the strike is necessary to fight the erosion of worker rights and benefits in an economy where the number of temporary workers and freelancers is growing. “I’ve been contacting my clients to say that I’m standing in solidarity with postal workers and to confirm if they are okay waiting for shipping until after the strike. Some of them have cancelled their orders, but many of them have told me they are fine waiting the strike out.”
Canada Post’s competitive rates, especially to deliver mail and parcels in remote regions, is a key reason why many small businesses have been left in the lurch. Ashwin Aggarwal, chief executive officer of Canadian Down and Feather, a retailer of sleep products, told The Globe and Mail that he could lose up to $200,000 in sales from the strike because it was too expensive to switch to another carrier.
Mr. Aggarwal has an exclusive shipping agreement with Canada Post to fulfill orders for his products sold at The Bay and Costco and direct to consumers through his company’s website. When the strike began he tried to use FedEx, but was told that they would only accept a limited number of packages because his business did not have an exclusive agreement with FedEx. He explored using a delivery company called ShippingChimp based in Mississauga, but was being charged double the amount compared with Canada Post. Many of his products are shipped to rural parts of the country.
“We kind of got stuck because we were loyal to Canada Post,” he said. “I respect the workers’ right to strike, but at the same time we need this mail service back because it’s important that people in remote regions get their goods.”
