Striking Canada Post workers in London say '20 km long' routes not sustainable
CBC
Canada Post employees in London were walking the picket lines Friday morning as the impact of their strike began to settle in on organizations that rely on the service.
Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) local 566 set up pickets outside the letter and package processing facility building on Highbury Avenue, and a second line near the corner of Wellington and Commissioners roads just after midnight.
They are some of the 55,000 Canada Post workers across the country who want to see changes to wages, benefits and working conditions.
"Our carriers are now delivering routes over 20 km long and this is just not sustainable on the human body," said Kimberly Rouble, the president of CUPW local 566.
"We're also juggling multi-bundles within our hands," Rouble said. "You can't see where you're going, which not only increases injuries but the severity of the injuries."
Canada Post's latest contract offer included annual wage increases of 11.5 per cent over four years, but union members say this is not enough.
"The corporation's offer is not sustainable," Rouble said. "It will not, over the four years, meet the rate of inflation."
Canada Post will shut down its operations during the strike, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses, the company said in a statement. This means mail and parcels will not be delivered during the strike, no new items will be accepted and some post offices will be closed.
Once operations resume, the company said it will deliver mail as quickly as possible but said Canadians should expect delays.
Although union members are on strike, Rouble said that both sides are still at the bargaining table.
"We are just kind of at an impasse," she said.
The strike comes ahead of Black Friday and the holiday season, forcing some London businesses to change their product shipping model.
"It's going to be a bit of a scramble," said Daniel Phillips, owner of Illbury + Goose, which uses Canada Post to ship items locally and across the country.
"We launched our Black Friday [Wednesday night] and we've got orders all packed up today going out to anywhere from the middle of rural BC to Quebec to Toronto," Phillips said. "It's like, 'What do we do here?'"
When Stephanie Gamble watched her mother model the first dress she made, smiling wide and walking an imaginary runway, she knew that was what she wanted to keep doing in her life.
'Tis the season for cuddling on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and watching holiday movies. And for people in B.C.'s Interior, that can increasingly mean seeing their home communities on display.
Every year, snowy owls spread their wings and migrate down to the Prairies, where they enjoy access to plenty of rodent prey in vast open spaces.
This month has been a busy stretch at the Upper Room Food Bank in Charlottetown.
N.W.T. Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland says she has received the final report from an independent investigation into education bodies in the Dehcho region.
P.E.I.’s auditor general says he’s concerned and disappointed that the projected deficit has doubled what government initially estimated it would be — and he's urging the province to balance its budget.
A man found not criminally responsible for stabbing five people to death at a Calgary house party is getting more freedoms but not an absolute discharge.
A man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a Toronto mother outside a supervised consumption site in Leslieville.
Russian olive trees — sometimes known as silver berry or oleaster — are small, ornamental plants with silvery leaves and black bark, and small yellow flowers and silver fruit that look like miniature olives. They’re pretty, but they’re a problem.
The Yukon Legislative Assembly’s fall sitting ended on Thursday after the territorial government introduced and passed a supplementary budget.
A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, who stands accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine, was involved in an investigation into allegations that a leading Canadian defence journalist was a longtime Russian asset.
An Alberta panel aimed at finding ways the province can strengthen its autonomy has offered up seven recommendations, including options for referendum topics.
People won't be able to travel along B.C.'s Highway 3 without significant delays and detours over the holiday season, says the Ministry of Transportation.