Canada Post Shuts Down Mail Operations

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Canada Post has locked out all its employees nationwide.  They issued this to the media:

Following 12 days of increasingly costly and damaging rotating strikes being carried out by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Canada Post has suspended operations across the country. The accelerating decline in volumes and revenue combined with the inability to deliver mail on a timely and safe basis has left the company with no choice but to make this decision.

Specifically we have taken this action for the following reasons:

• Rotating strikes have had a significant impact on the short-term revenue of the business. Canada Post’s estimated losses are approaching $100 million after today’s strike in Montreal and Toronto and that figure is climbing daily;
• Over the past few days several incidents have raised concerns about the ability to move the mail while keeping our employees and customers safe;
• Canada Post and CUPW remain far apart on several fundamental issues and there has been no progress made at the negotiating table for weeks;
• If we allow the uncertainty created by the rotating strikes to continue, our ability to remain financially self-sufficient and not become a burden on Canadian taxpayers will be in jeopardy.

We believe that a lockout is the best way to bring a timely resolution to this impasse and force the union to seriously consider proposals that address the declining mail volumes and the $3.2-billion pension deficit.

Canada Post continues to believe that the best result from this round of bargaining is a negotiated settlement. The company had hoped to reach an agreement without a disruption in Canada’s postal service which is why the company made every effort to protect the pay, pension and job security of existing employees.