OTTAWA – Canada Post workers are officially on strike.
About 150 workers in Winnipeg took to the picket line at midnight eastern time for the first in a series of rotating 24-hour strikes.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced plans to strike earlier on Thursday after a last-ditch attempt by the Crown Corporation failed to head off job action.
“The purpose of our strike is to encourage (Canada Post) management to return to the bargaining table with a proposal that meets the needs of current and future postal workers,” the union said in a statement released on Thursday evening.
CUP-W expects to meet senior post office management on Friday to continue negotiations.
The union said it picked Winnipeg as the first rotating strike location because it was first city to feel the impact of Canada Post’s modernization program.
Meanwhile, Canada Post has said it needs to address labour costs. It notes the letter-mail business has fallen by more than 17 per cent since 2006 due to digital communications.
Canada Post spokesman John Caines said the Crown corporation remained hopeful that the two sides will reach a negotiated settlement.
The Crown corporation said it wants to keep negotiating and is making a number of concessions to keep the union at the table.
“We are committed to getting an agreement and we’re still working at it,” Caines said from Ottawa.
In its latest offer, Canada Post said it would be willing to put a controversial short-term disability program on hold, to be reviewed by a joint union-management committee.
Proposed changes to sick leave are a key sticking point for the union.
Businesses and charities have been preparing for a big financial hit because of the postal strike, while rival courier services have been making plans to accommodate a potential increase in customers.
Volunetters in some provinces will be used to deliver government assistance cheques during the strike.
Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says estimates the postal strike will cost small businesses between 200- and 250-dollars daily.
“Undoubtedly, there will be a lot of money caught in the system when the strike occurs that will just be basically halted and will remain in the mail,” he said.
Both the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Toronto-based Yonge Street Mission said they, along with other charities, will also be seriously impacted by a postal strike.
The Yonge Street Mission said services it provides to Toronto’s poorest people are funded through donations received in the mail.
“The strike could cost the charity approximately $56,000 each week it continues,” Ann Barnard Ball, Mission development officer, said in a statement.
She said 70 per cent of the Yonge Street Mission’s funding comes through the mail, but she did note that nearly $500,000 was raised last year through online donations.
The Canadian Wildlife Federation said a significant portion of donations are received through direct mail campaigns but added that donations can still be made over the phone or online.
“The postal strike will impede CWF’s ability to communicate with many of its over 300,000 donors,” said executive vice-president Wade Luzny.
The last time the union went on strike was the fall of 1997. The workers were off the job for two weeks before being forced back to work by federal legislation.
Times have changed since then. Businesses have alternatives such as electronic payments, online banking and direct deposit, but observers say the absence of Canada Post’s parcel delivery service will be felt, especially in rural areas.
Meanwhile, courier companies expect business to pick up.
“I do have extra staff lined up,” said manager Jason Crown of Toronto-based Messengers International courier service.
Purolator said it will bring in extra staff if needed to ensure its customers get the same level of service, said Denis Roch, general manger of Purolator’s Quebec and Atlantic Canada division.
“Our main priority is to try to protect our existing customers.”
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