Canada Post workers demonstrate in Ottawa

Hundreds of CUPW postal workers from eastern Canada gathered in the freezing rain at Canada Post headquarters on Wednesday. The postal workers marched in solidarity in front of their employer's Ottawa offices to reaffirm that they will not be “scorned” and “insulted” at the bargaining table.

Indeed, according to Guillaume Brodeur, a letter carrier at the Chabanel post office in Montreal, the latest union offer was “an offer of compromise” that was “rejected out of hand” by management earlier this week.

According to Brodeur, the stalemate is taking place behind the scenes in Parliament, and he worries that the employer never had any intention of negotiating an agreement: “Personally, my fear, having gotten this far in the conflict, is that I wonder if the government hasn't been hypocritical all along.”

“The government owns Canada Post. If they put pressure on them behind the scenes to settle, it could be settled tomorrow. I agree with Duclos and MacKinnon's rhetoric about wanting a negotiated settlement! But I wonder if it's not on our backs."

The Sword of Damocles of special legislation

Many letter carriers, like Isabelle from Saint-Félicien, dreamed of the possibility of a special law being imposed in the interests of workers and the Canadian people, not the employer. “It would be nice if there were a [special] law, but it would have to be for us."

Having been close to the bargaining tables for several years, Nancy, a rural letter carrier, told The North Star that she believes the government has used special legislation too much. According to her, the employer expected the government to intervene on their behalf. “We're sure that's what Canada Post expected."

Nancy believes that the union's main objective is to negotiate this new collective agreement in the right way, so that workers finally come out on top.

She adds that the general strike is a lever that could enable postal workers to catch up with the last agreements. The latter were imposed by an arbitrator chosen by the government and were, at the same time, highly advantageous to management.

However, she asserts that CUPW also wants to succeed in signing an agreement that will contribute to the well-being of the Crown corporation. For her, though, management doesn't have the same conviction. “Canada Post has tunnel vision and is heading for the wall,” she exclaims.

Still Mobilized for the future of the post office

George and Pearl drove 15 hours to bring their bosses back to order: “Stop this madness,” exclaims Pearl! “Come back to the bargaining table, and stop trying to take away gains made in our old collective agreements!” Many were on hand to protest the employer's negotiating procedures.  

Many CUPW members are concerned that this labour dispute is not just a struggle for better conditions but an existential struggle for a public post office.

As we reported in recent weeks, many employees interviewed decried the withering away of services and the mismanagement of the loss-making company since 2018. “We're not just here for the post office, we're here for the people too,” Isabelle confirms to us. “We want to get back to work, but not at any price. At some point, it takes recognition."

After a 22-year career, she is dismayed to see the decline in services and working conditions. She joins the many demonstrators, delighted to finally have the right to fight for the future of her career and her company. However, she fears that these negotiations will be the final nail in Canada Post's coffin.

“I'm going to last to the end, but if we go back to work and they win [...] well, I'll quit. And it's a shame for them too, because they're not just going to lose me, they're going to lose a lot of people who really care about this. We're the ones who keep the company going, not them. [...] They make shitty decisions. But it's us, the little pawns who know the job, we know what it takes.”

In this fourth week of the strike, many workers recognize the need for a breakthrough. Guillaume worries that, with cuts to health insurance, weather conditions and the approaching holidays, many strikers are beginning to “see the budget cul-de-sac coming,” but he adds that “people are staying strong, we have no choice.”