Postal workers in Surrey hit the picket lines Friday (Sept. 26) for the first full day of a nationwide strike that has halted Canada Post operations across the country.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) announced Thursday afternoon that its members were walking off the job immediately, calling it a response to what they described as “the government’s attack on our postal service and workers.”
The walkout came hours after the federal government directed Canada Post to end door-to-door home delivery, part of a broader cost-saving strategy recommended in a spring report from the Industrial Inquiry Commission. Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound, who oversees Canada Post, said the Crown corporation is facing an “existential crisis,” losing roughly $10 million every day.
In Surrey, picket lines formed outside post offices in South Surrey, Whalley, and Cloverdale. Outside the Whalley Canada Post location on King George Boulevard, about half a dozen workers took part.
Dave Maris, a postal worker who joined Canada Post just six months ago after moving from Prince George, said this was his first strike experience. “The bills keep coming in, and I gotta work,” he said, hoping for a quick resolution. Another worker, Al, who declined to provide his last name, said employees have been without a contract for over a year and a half. “In solidarity, we trust,” he added.
By late Friday afternoon, federal mediators advised the union that Canada Post needed more time to prepare its revised proposals. “Canada Post will let us know Monday morning whether we will meet Wednesday or Thursday to receive the new offers,” CUPW stated in a release.
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