The ongoing strike action of the postal workers’ union will have a “minimal” effect on service in Westlock, a union official says.
Gord Fischer, the national director of the prairie region for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said the worst Westlock residents could expect would be minor delays.
“Today we unveiled a strike in Winnipeg. Of course that would have virtually no effect on Westlock, Edmonton and other centres,” he said Friday afternoon.
The union has decided to engage in limited strike action rotating through major centres for short periods of time. Winnipeg was first on the list, followed by Hamilton over the weekend.
The decision on where the strikes will take place is made on a day-to-day basis, Fischer said, so there’s no predicting when or if a strike would happen in Edmonton. If a strike did come to Edmonton, it would mean a short period, likely 24 to 48 hours, with no mail service. That would cause a delay in service but no permanent stoppage.
“If we struck in Edmonton, basically the mail for Westlock from all over Canada goes through that hub, and therefore there’s trucks that come out of there that wouldn’t come out for a the period of the strike,” Fischer said. “There would be no mail in Westlock while there’s a strike in Edmonton.”
He cautioned, however, that the situation could change depending on what’s happening at the bargaining table.
The postal workers’ current contract expired January 31, 2011, and the company and union have been in negotiations since then.
The points of contention include changes to sick days, a proposed lower starting wage for new employees and concerns about unsafe working conditions.
Canada Post Corporation, meanwhile, said in a June 1 media release that the changes are necessary because despite declining letter volumes and a $3.2 billion pension deficit, wages and benefits continue to cost two thirds of the company’s revenue.
Fischer said he is happy the company continues to negotiate
“Nobody’s walked away; we continue to negotiate,” he said. “We feel the corporation has to move on some of their demands and on some of ours before a resolution can be reached, but people are still talking.”
Employees at the Westlock post office declined to comment.
If the Westlock branch is closed due to the strike, in-town subscribers will be able to pick up their Westlock News at our office — 9871 - 107 Street.
As for delivery to rural subscribers, rural outlets will remain open so it will be business as usual.
But if that changes and those sites are closed for business, newspapers will be placed at those sites for subscribers to pick up.
If the strike does expand and no mail is moving, out-of-area subscribers will have their subscriptions put on hold. Finally, all subscribers also have the option of moving to an online subscription.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) locals in Moncton, NB and Victoria, B.C. began 24-hour strikes in both cities at midnight on June 7. The work stoppage is affecting mail delivery in and around each city.
The rotating strike by the union's Montreal local ended at 11:30 PM on June 6. Mail acceptance and delivery in Montreal and the surrounding areas has resumed but volumes are expected to be lower than normal.
Canada Post has turned down the latest offer put forward by CUPW as part of labour negotiations.
According to the CUPW website, the union's national executive board will select future locations for strike activity based on developments at the bargaining table.
Canada Post has advised Newspapers Canada that while rural post offices (non-CUPW) will be operational as per usual, strike activity can change the status of a facility at any time. Post offices that are operational will continue to accept mailings, deliver mail and perform their usual daily tasks. This would change if a national strike is declared.
