KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Canada Post is blaming delays in parcel delivery almost exclusively on the November rotating strikes, but that’s not the only reason, says Canada Post retail clerk and union activist Mike Keefe.
“It seems to me Canada Post is going out of their way to scare the public and lower expectations,” Keefe says. “This is always our busiest time of the year. Last year there was no strike at all and Canada Post also changed its on-time delivery guarantees.”
“The rotating strikes stopped in late November, in the odd place you had picketing by local labour activists, but mail is moving freely now for weeks. For that matter, the mail was moving not that badly even before we were legislated back to work, because they were rotating strikes,” says Keefe.
Canada Post is paying overtime on Sundays, but in HRM no overtime is offered to postal workers on Saturdays.
“If the backlog is as bad as Canada Post is suggesting you’d think they would have letter carriers and couriers going out on Saturdays as well,” Keefe says.
“Canada Post is saying, any parcel that is late we are going to blame on the work disruption, but at some point Canada Post must stop that and say, it’s Christmas, we’re backlogged, we’re doing our best.”
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