Canada Post workers to strike in Hamilton Friday
Posted June 3, 2011 5:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The union representing Canada Post workers said Hamilton will be the next city to be hit by a round of rotating strikes. Members hit the picket lines Friday at 11:45 p.m.
The upcoming strike action in Steeltown, expected to last 48 hours, comes after members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) started a 24-hour strike in Winnipeg Thursday night.
The union’s chief negotiator gave no indication Friday when the rotating work stoppages, which began late Thursday for 24 hours in Winnipeg, would end.
“We will continue to strike…the goal is the same, it is achieving a good collective agreement,” Denis Lemelin told a news conference in Ottawa.
The union and Crown corporation have been trying to hammer out a deal for the past seven months. The key sticking point for the CUPW is sick leave and proposed lower wages and benefits for new hires. The union says it put several amendments on the table as part of its final offer Monday, including a drop in its wage demands. It also agreed to Canada Post’s request for a four-year collective agreement.
A last-ditch effort at ending the contract deadlock came Thursday afternoon when Canada Post tabled its final offer, which the union rebuffed ahead of its 11:59 p.m. strike deadline.
Canada Post says it’s struggling to rein in labour costs after experiencing a 17 per cent decline in letter mail since 2006.
“I think that people have forgotten why unions are there to begin with. And that corporations are becoming more and more greedy and they’re doing that on the backs of workers like me,” Winnipeg letter carrier Michelle Fidler said.
“Nobody ever got rich working at Canada Post in the position I’m in. I make ends meet. I don’t have a fancy car or a big house, and I work hard. And I don’t think the general public knows exactly how difficult that job is.”
The last CUPW strike in 1997 lasted two weeks before back-to-work legislation was implemented.
With files from the Canadian Press.
The government of Canada put out the following information on Friday.
If you are a senior citizen or a person with disabilities
Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPP Disability) cheques will continue to be delivered by Canada Post once a month. For more information, please visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca/ or call 1-800-O-Canada.
If you are collecting Employment Insurance
Clients who receive their Employment Insurance (EI) cheques by mail will need to pick up their cheques at selected Service Canada Centres or alternate distribution centres throughout Canada. For more information, please visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca.
If you are a veteran
Regularly scheduled cheques will continue to be delivered by Canada Post once a month. This includes disability pensions, monthly allowances, Exceptional Incapacity Allowance (EIA), Permanent Impairment Allowance (PIA), Earnings Loss and War Veterans Allowance (WVA) payments.
Other non-regularly scheduled cheques, such as Disability Award, Veterans Independence Program (VIP), treatment benefits (including health-related travel), adjustment cheques, etc., will be held for the duration of the postal disruption. If you have an urgent need, please contact Veterans Affairs Canada at 1-866-522-2122 (English) or 1-866-522-2022 (French) or visit www.veterans.gc.ca.
If you are applying for a passport
For information related to Passport Canada services, such as applying for a passport, urgent travel in the next 6 weeks or passport pick-up options, please visit www.pptc.gc.ca.
In addition, the 144 Service Canada Centres that act as Passport Receiving Agents will continue to accept applications. For more information, please visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca
If you are expecting a Social Insurance Number card to be delivered
Social Insurance Number (SIN) cards will not be mailed during a postal disruption and will be held until the strike is over. Employers will be able to confirm a valid SIN by calling 1-800-206-7218 (select option ‘3’). For more information, please visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca
If you are expecting to receive the Canada Child Tax Benefit cheque
Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) cheques that include provincial supplements administered by the CRA (where applicable) will continue to be delivered by Canada Post once a month. For more information, please visit www.cra-arc.gc.ca/postalstrike.
If you are expecting a cheque from the CRA for your tax refund, the Universal Child Care Benefit, GST/HST credit, or a provincial/territorial benefit
If you are already enrolled in direct deposit, you will receive your payment as usual. Canada Post will not deliver cheques for the above payments during a strike. To find out how to enroll for direct deposit and for all other strike-related CRA updates, please visit www.cra.gc.ca/postalstrike.
If you need to send in a tax payment, remittance or return
Taxpayers are encouraged to use alternative methods to file a return, make a payment and send a remittance by using the Canada Revenue Agency’s electronic services or mail drop boxes at local Tax Services Offices and Tax Centers. For more information, please visit www.cra.gc.ca/postalstrike.
If you are a farmer participating in a Business Risk Management program
In provinces where the Government of Canada delivers the AgriStability program, payments will not be mailed until the postal strike is over. In the event of a prolonged postal disruption, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada will look at alternative means of issuing payments to producers. For more information, you can call toll free 1-800-367-8506 or visit www.agr.gc.ca/agristability.
