The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUP-W) says that it expects its members will begin rotating job actions at midnight Sunday evening. Union spokesperson, Anny Lesage, confirmed to CJAD 800 that Canada Post refused the union's most recent offer and that no negotiations were scheduled for Sunday.
Unlike many previous strikes, the key issues this time are about balooning workloads; overtime and workplace injuries, not money.
"We have (such) big routes and a workload so big that people are exhasuted just doing their routes," said Lesage. "If you start at 10am and you're supposed to have thirty parcels in your route you should finish at 6pm, but because you have so much you can't finish until 9 o'clock at night."
CUP-W says the existing system used to assign and measure the workload of letter carriers is not as good as it should be. As an example, Lesage said routes have about thirty parcels per route and employees are often being expected to deliver upwards of 100 to 120 parcels. "It's a big problem," she says.
Under the current Collective Agreement Lesage says "if you start the route you have to finish it," regardless of the number of parcels a carrier way have that day.
In an e-mail to The Canadian Press, Canada Post defended itself saying that it responded to "many of the issues raised by the union and (has) offered to work together to find constructive solutions."
An announcement about affected Canada Post locations is expected from the union around dinner time, Sunday.
More to come...