Central Albertans could face delays in mail delivery as the result of Canada Post changes, says the union representing postal workers.
Canada Post has decided to centralize mail sorting as a result of declining usage.
The post office plans to change its mail processing strategy by sending all mail to larger municipalities such as Edmonton or Calgary.
Gord Fischer, Canadian Union of Postal Workers national director, said this move could mean serious delays in mail delivery and could reduce employment in smaller communities, like those in Central Alberta.
But Canada Post spokesman John Caines said the decision to change operations is a reaction to the changing nature of the business, specifically that so many fewer letters are being sent.
“There are a billion fewer letters than there was in 2006,” said Caines. “And 30 per cent of that decline was in 2012. We have to look at better ways to make our system viable.”
What Canada Post has done is called de-twinning. Typically, a Canada Post mail drop area has two boxes, one for local mail and the other for out of town mail. Caines said only 10 to 20 per cent of all mail processed is local.
“These trucks are going in and out of these communities every day anyway,” said Caines. “We can take that mail, all of it instead of just some of it, into the larger centres where we have the capacity as well as high-speed sorting machines.”
That mail can be sorted at about 35,000 pieces per hour and Caines said the truck returns the next day on its regular route back into the community. He said there should be no impact on how long it takes for a letter to be delivered, even in rural areas.
But Fischer and CUPW are firm that the change will affect communities and local business.
“The results of these changes will reduce employment in these communities and lengthen the time it takes for businesses and the public to communicate by mail,” said Fischer.
Rather than suggest this move could impact Canada Post jobs, CUPW said it would impact businesses in smaller municipalities that rely on the service the local mail provides.
“The work that will be removed is created by postal customers in these centres and should remain there in the interest of efficient and effective postal service,” said Fischer.
Caines said the cuts would not impact Canada Post jobs immediately, but as people move on or retire the post office may shed positions.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com