9,600 Postal Workers On Strike

Postal Workers from the Pickering Facility Join Picket Lines

For Immediate Release

Ottawa – Members of Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) from the Scarborough local working at the Pickering facility walked off the job at 6.00 pm (ET) this evening as part of CUPWs third week of rotating strikes. Workers from the Saguenay Lac St-Jean local in Quebec also walked off the job this evening at 5 pm (ET).

They joined their fellow workers currently on the picket line in Ontario, Alberta and Newfoudland and Labrador. In total, 9,600 postal are on strike across the country.

“After more than ten months of negotiations, the intervention of two mediators and two weeks of rotating strikes, Canada Post’s true coulours are emerging,” says Mike Palecek, CUPW National President. “The lofty rhetoric of wanting to work with us to reach fair agreements for our workers is turning out to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. It needs to be said: Canada Post talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk.”

CUPW has called on a national overtime ban for both of its major bargaining units at Canada Post. Postal workers, no matter what their job at Canada Post, will not work more than an eight-hour day and not more than a 40-hour week. ‘’Overburdening, overtime and overwork are all major issues in this round of bargaining. Until Canada Post negotiators’ address it, we can solve it for ourselves in the meantime,” says Palecek.

CUPW members are still without agreements for the Urban Postal Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) bargaining units after almost a year of negotiations.

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For more information, please contact: 

EN – Emilie Tobin, CUPW Communications, at 613-882-2742 or at [email protected]

FR – Lise-Lyne Gélineau, President, CUPW Montreal local, at 514-914-0350 or at [email protected]