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Postal workers officially on strike

OTTAWA — Canada Post workers are officially on strike.
Canada Post Strike 20110603
A Canadian Union of Postal Workers member pickets in front of a the main post office on Graham Avenue in Winnipeg

OTTAWA — Canada Post workers are officially on strike.

About 150 workers in Winnipeg have taken to the picket line for the first in a series of rotating 24-hour strikes.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced plans to strike earlier on Thursday after a last-ditch attempt by the Crown Corporation failed to head off job action.

The union is hoping the strike will encourage management to return to the bargaining table with a proposal that meets the needs of its members.

CUP-W says it expects to meet senior post office management on Friday.

The union says it picked Winnipeg as the first rotating strike location because it was first city to feel the impact of Canada Post’s modernization program.

Canada Post has said it needs to address labour costs.

It notes the letter-mail business has fallen by more than 17 per cent since 2006 due to digital communications.

Businesses and charities have been preparing for a big financial hit because of the postal strike, while rival courier services have been making plans to accommodate a potential increase in customers.

Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says estimates the postal strike will cost small businesses between $200 and $250 daily.

“Undoubtedly, there will be a lot of money caught in the system when the strike occurs that will just be basically halted and will remain in the mail,” said Kelly, the organization’s senior vice-president. “Cash flow issues to small businesses can be a pretty significant deal,”

Both the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Toronto-based Yonge Street Mission said they, along with other charities, will be affected by a strike.

The Yonge Street Mission said services it provides to Toronto’s poorest people are funded through donations received in the mail.

“The strike could cost the charity approximately $56,000 each week it continues,” Ann Barnard Ball, Mission development officer, said in a statement.

She said 70 per cent of the Yonge Street Mission’s funding comes through the mail, but she did note that $500,000 was raised last year through donations.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation said a significant portion of donations are received through direct mail campaigns but added that donations can still be made over the phone or online.

“The postal strike will impede CWF’s ability to communicate with many of its over 300,000 donors,” said executive vice-president Wade Luzny.

The announcement of rotating strikes came as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers continued negotiations on a new labour contract with the government-owned corporation, as the clock ticked down to the strike deadline.

Canada Post spokesman John Caines said the Crown corporation remains hopeful that the two sides will reach a negotiated settlement. The Crown corporation said it wants to keep negotiating and is making a number of concessions to keep the union at the table.

“We are committed to getting an agreement and we’re still working at it,” Caines said from Ottawa.

In its latest offer, Canada Post said it would be willing to put a controversial short-term disability program on hold, to be reviewed by a joint union-management committee.

The proposed changes to sick leave is a key sticking point for the union.

The union gave its required 72-hour notice on Monday and will use volunteers in some provinces to deliver government assistance cheques. It plans to hold a news conference in Ottawa on Friday morning to discuss negotiations and strike activities.

The last time the union went on strike was the fall of 1997. The workers were off the job for two weeks before being forced back to work.