Powell River Local 808 of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) president Noah Bourcier and more than 40 CUPW members were on picket line on Monday, November 18, outside the Canada Post building at 4812 Joyce Avenue. Bourcier said they have been on strike since 9 pm on November 14.
"We've been without a contract since December 30, 2023," added Bourcier. "With the cost of living going up we haven't seen an annual raise in over a year."
Bourcier said the cost of living in Powell River has gone up and with two small children and a wife, his family's grocery bill is on average $1,200 a month. The starting wage at Canada Post is $2,750 and an average one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver costs $2,500, which is not sustainable, he added.
“In Powell River, letter carriers are currently walking 15 to 20 kilometres per day under the old foot route system,” said Bourcier. “Canada Post has implemented a new system, called separate sort and delivery, where they've taken away letter carriers' morning sortation time and added those two hours to our walking time. Under this horrible new system letter carriers are walking over 30 kilometres a day.
“My union is demanding that they cease implementing this terrible new system across the country. Our members are falling apart with the insane physical demands that walking 30-plus kilometres a day puts on their bodies. Not to mention, job satisfaction is at an all-time low with this system and they don't want to pay for this extra work.”
Canada Post is a Crown corporation owned by the federal government, but Bourcier emphasized that workers salaries are not taxpayer funded.
"Another really important sticking point for us is [Canada Post] trying to take away the indexing part of our pensions for new hires, so it puts all the risk on the employee, as opposed to the employer, for our pensions, so you're at the mercy of the markets," said Bourcier. "Right now we're protected against market fluctuations with our index."
The Peak reached out to Canada Post and received an emailed response:
“Canada Post supports the appointment of a special mediator by the minister of labour as efforts continue to achieve negotiated agreements with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). We remain committed to reaching new agreements at the bargaining table, and not through arbitration. Discussions continue.
“Canada Post is now in day four of CUPW’s national strike, which has shut down operations across the country during the critical holiday period, negatively impacting small businesses, charities and remote communities. The strike has also had a significant impact on the company, putting it in an increasingly challenging position as customers turn to competitors for their deliveries.
“As a result, Canada Post parcel volumes declined by 42 per cent last week, compared to the same week in the previous year. With no new parcel volumes in the system over the four days of the national strike, this situation will only worsen. While the parties remain far apart at the table, our plan has always been to continue operating and maintain this vital service, even in the event of rotating strikes by the union.”
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