CUPW 776 postal workers are seen on day four of a national strike along Kipling Street. Wednesday volunteers will begin delivering the most recent round of government support cheques to residents in Medicine Hat and surrounding communities.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Starting Wednesday volunteer postal workers will sort and deliver the next round of benefit cheques, including Canada Child Benefit, old age security and Canada Pension Plan, to residents in Medicine Hat and surrounding communities, honouring a commitment made by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers when it announced a national strike last Friday.
Local postal workers will suit up in uniform Wednesday to begin the delivery of benefit cheques around noon, and will continue until all cheques have been delivered within a timeframe, depending on how many Canadian Union of Postal Workers volunteers participate.
“We’re going to do our best to make sure everybody gets their cheques,” says Karen Hellawell, vice-president CUPW 776. “People are going to be seeing us out there on the street in our vans and potentially in our uniforms, and what we don’t want is for them to think either we’re scabs or we’re back to work.”
In Medicine Hat, postal workers continue to fight for better wages and working conditions after no agreements could be made Monday between the Crown corporation and union.
Today will mark day five of the national strike that has affected the country’s national postal service after more than 55,000 workers hit the picket lines Friday morning, including more than 100 working from Medicine Hat, Brooks, Redcliff and surrounding communities.
A special mediator has been appointed by the Ministry of Labour to work toward a resolution, with the Holiday Season arriving and Black Friday at the end of the month.
“Now with this new mediator, I’m sure that they’ll give it some time and see if that makes a difference in terms of progress,” said Hellawell.
The union is demanding wages for workers that align with inflation, as well as the removal of a two-tier wage system, seeking enhancements to group benefits and safer working conditions.
The union is also seeking an expansion of current services offered by Canada Post, including postal banking, the addition of an e-commerce platform and service to provide check-ins for seniors and others who live alone in the community.
Mail and parcels will not be delivered during the strike and some post offices, including the Kipling Street location, have been closed. Customers are expected to experience delays for the duration, as well as a period of time following the strike to catch up with any backlog.
“All mail and parcels in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis once operations resume,” states the latest CUPW press release. “However, a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends.”
