Canada Post workers rally at headquarters as strike enters fourth week

Striking postal workers deliver a message Canada Post workers delivered a message to management during a rally at the Crown corporation's headquarters. CTV's Dave Charbonneau reports

Canada Post workers are continuing their fight for a deal as their strike stretches into its fourth week.

On Wednesday, hundreds of employees from across Ontario and Quebec gathered outside Canada Post headquarters on Riverside Drive in Ottawa, demanding action.

Pamela Morin, president of Wingham Local 632, says the strike is taking a personal toll on workers.

“Some of us are going to lose our homes. Some of us are struggling for our Christmas. Some of us are struggling to put food on the table,” Morin said.

The fight, she says, is about protecting basic rights for tens of thousands of postal workers. A postal worker's average salary can range from roughly $45,000 annually for letter carriers to $96,000 for mechanics and technicians, depending on position and seniority. The payscale is available online.

“A living wage, our pension, our benefits, they've all been affected. So it's been truly a big struggle for 55,000 of us postal workers,” she said.

Union representatives say it’s time for Canada Post leadership to take action.

“We’re tired of them dragging this out,” said Mark Platt, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) national director for the Ontario region.

“We want to get a negotiated settlement with them, and they’re dragging things out intentionally. So, we’re coming here to give them a message for the board of directors and Mr. Ettinger to get out of his office, get down to the bargaining table, and come to the hotel and get this collective agreement settled with us.”

The disruption is also hitting businesses like Sports4 in Ottawa’s College Square.

“Right now, the loss of Canada Post has really impacted our sales across Canada,” said general manager Nathan Kwok.

Kwok says the situation has made daily operations harder and more expensive.

“I used to be able to just walk down to the post office and drop everything off, and everything would be done on a daily basis. Now I have to wait for UPS to pick up, and then at times, the UPS process for booking a pickup is also problematic,” Kwok said. “So, it’s impacted us in terms of how we can deliver service to all of our customers across Canada.”

Back on the picket line, workers like Funmi Olumade say they won’t back down.

“We want them to be fair to us. We want them to go back to the table. We don’t want legislation. We want negotiation. Let them meet each other. We have dropped some things for them. Let them meet us well,” said Olumade, a lead hand in retail for Canada Post.

For Morin, the message is clear.

“We didn’t stay here out this long to not make an impact. We have to make that impact, or we’re never going to make a difference in what we’re working in,” she said.