Right in the centre - Maybe just sell Canada Post

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Published on Thursday, November 28, 2024

By Ken Waddell

Neepawa Banner & Press

Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers went on strike on Nov. 15 due to unresolved issues with Canada Post. That’s an interesting statement as just about everybody has unresolved issues with Canada Post. From customers to management to the striking members of CUPW, everyone has problems with Canada Post.

Canada Post has a problem with itself, not the least of which is the fact it loses half a billion dollars a year and it doesn’t seem to have any idea how to fix it.

I have heard that postage stamps for letters will go up in February to $1.25 a stamp. That will further reduce the “letter” volume and income. In 2006, at its peak, Canada Post delivered nearly 5.5 billion letters. As of 2023, that number has dwindled by more than half, with only 2.2 billion letters.

Personally, I don’t think that Canada Post workers should have the right to strike, because they have a monopoly on first class mail, and in many parts of the country, they are the only way of getting letters and parcels delivered. They are an essential service and essential services should not be able to go on strike.

When Canada Post goes on strike they hold the citizens and businesses of Canada hostage. Businesses have moved away from Canada Post with e-transfers of funds to pay bills. In addition, over the phone or email credit card payments have replaced a lot of cheques in the mail traffic.

That said, many people and businesses still depend on Canada Post so I re-state, Canada Post workers should not be allowed to go on strike.

In addition to being an essential service, Canada Post workers have it pretty good. They have reasonable salaries, those that work indoors have a pretty good environment to work in. The postal carriers get paid to work in outdoor conditions and yes, sometimes the weather is a bit of an issue. However the carriers get paid to get fresh air, exercise and good cardio activity. Some work early hours  but they also get off early. They have health benefits, various benefits and pensions.

I have even less sympathy for the Canada Post management, all 13 of the highly overpaid vice-presidents and hundreds of management staff. The management team hasn’t figured out how to make a profit wth a business that has a nation-wide presence and a monopoly on first class mail.

Then there’s the service. At the local level where the staff are not under CUPW, it’s really good. In the larger towns where the staff are under CUPW rules, they tend to be bound to work by the rules and those rules aren’t always customer friendly.

I have written many times about our trials and tribulations of trying to be supportive of local post offices with our three newspapers. It’s a losing battle but not because of the local staff and here’s why. If we deliver papers directly to a post office that isn’t ruled by CUPW, the papers are put in the boxes within hours or even minutes. If it’s a CUPW governed office, sometimes the rule checkers get trigger happy and papers can wait for up to four business days to be put in the boxes. That obviously doesn’t work for a weekly paper. We deliver mostly on Thursdays. That means if the papers don’t get boxed by Friday, they can sit until Tuesday (four business days) plus the weekend.

Also, if we wanted to get the quick and willing service that local postmasters give us, we had to drive the papers to each town. Why is that? It’s because if we drop the papers off at one post office, it can take up to seven days to get through the warehouse in Brandon or Winnipeg and back out to the local post offices. Not always, but often, paper deliveries within Manitoba take up to a week. Out of province delivery can be up to three weeks.

CUPW almost always goes on strike near Christmas in order to commit maximum damage on Canada Post and the customers. Small businesses depend on the mail for bills to be paid. Two weeks with no income creates huge cash flow problems.

Canada Post passes on a half billion dollar financial loss burden onto Canadian taxpayers every year and we all pay for it plus the expenses of a restricted cash flow during a strike. I say, sell Canada Post! Between private interests, emails, e-transfers and couriers, we might do just fine and with a lot less aggravation.

Selling Canada Post won’t likely happen but something needs to happen to give better service to citizens and businesses.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the newspaper staff.