Letter: A rural postwoman’s heartfelt outcry

This letter is from a postwoman in the greater Montreal area. She asked us not to reveal her name, for fear of direct retaliation.

At Canada Post, there are two categories of letter carriers: “urban” and “rural”. We, the “rural” or RSMCs (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers), face a very difficult reality. 

The RSMCs are required to provide a 100-cubic-foot vehicle to do their work. In return, Canada Post pays us about $2,300 a year to cover the cost of the vehicle. That's a laughable amount: it doesn't even pay for the tires! Not to mention maintenance, insurance and gas.

A 100 cu. ft. vehicle is expensive. And we don't even need such large vehicles any more, since Canada Post is doing everything in its power to destroy our fine line of work.

Unlike our urban colleagues, we are not entitled to lump-sum payments for flyer distribution. We have no hourly compensation for this work: we are paid per an average, calculated once a year. What's more, we don't have time to prepare the flyers, so we work for free every week to sort and organize them!

We also pay out-of-pocket for gas and special insurance for our business vehicles. And when there's an overload of work, we don't get paid overtime. During the pandemic, we could deliver up to 200 parcels a day, but we were paid the same lump sum. Whether we work 8 hours or 12, we get the same pay.

In the end, the cost of gas and all the payments for our vehicles mean that we're practically paying to work. You know, a 100 cu. ft. vehicle is considered by Canada Post to be a minivan. The payments we receive in return, because of this, are absurdly low for vehicles like that.

Let's make this concrete, so you can understand how Canada Post exploits us:

• Our salary, before taxes, is between $4500 and $5500 a month. The average wage in Quebec is $4900 a month. So, in theory, it's good, but not incredible.
• After deductions and with “reimbursements” for the truck, the average salary is $3800.
• If you take out the payments for the truck, insurance and gas, you're left with $2300. 
• That's $200 more a month than minimum wage! It's not like we're rich…

We RSMCs have become the cash cows of Canada Post, which puts profits before providing decent service and a good life for its employees. Our working conditions are disrespectful and certainly don't reflect the importance we hold in our communities. We just want to be respected and do the work we love.

An RSMC on strike