OTTAWA, Ontario—The Canadian Union of Postal Workers banned overtime Nov. 1, instructing members
to refuse to work more than eight hours a day as Canada Post tries to cope with a backlog of parcel deliveries caused by rotating strikes around the country since Oct. 22. “We’ve had it,” said CUPW national president Mike Palecek. “Overburdening, overtime, and overwork are all major issues in this round of bargaining.” A Canada Post spokesperson told the Canadian Press Oct. 31 that there were more than 150 truckloads of “items waiting to be unloaded and processed” at its three biggest hubs, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. A 24-hour strike by about 6,000 workers in Montreal ended Oct. 30, but new walkouts began Oct. 31 in Ottawa and several smaller communities in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island. Postal workers in Regina, Saskatchewan and Hamilton, Ontario went on strike Nov. 1. Canada Post has said it has offered significant wage increases. The raises offered aren’t enough to keep up with inflation, Palecek said in a message to members Oct. 31, and the agency’s proposals “don’t address a single one of our major issues.” Read more
