As the strike continues, members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are continuing to hope for a resolution before the holiday season.
The strike began on Nov. 15 and since that time, Canada Post deliveries have stopped.
Outside the Summerland post office, workers continue to picket, but they add that they would like to resume work soon.
“We’d like to get everyone’s parcels to them by Christmas,” said Christine Durocher, one of the workers on the picket line.
Although the strike is continuing, the tradition of receiving and answering children’s letters to Santa is continuing. Workers are collecting the letters in a colourful box at the picket line, although at present, the number of letters received has been lower than in previous years.
Jeff Padgham, one of the striking workers, is disappointed with the lack of progress in the labour dispute.
“It feels like there’s a lack of urgency,” he said.
During the strike, the workers receive some strike pay, but they do not receive benefits while they are striking, said Alpha Woldenga, one of the workers. As a result, prescriptions, dental expenses and other items must be paid out of pocket.
“It’s not just the public feeling the pressure; it’s also the workers,” Padgham added.
Still, as the strike continues, the workers say they have been receiving positive support from the public.
The postal strike is affecting Canada Post across the country as around 55,000 workers represented by the union remain off the job. Issues in this dispute include wages, job security, benefits and contract work for parcel delivery on weekends.
The union is seeking a cumulative wage hike of 24 per cent over four years, while Canada Post has proposed an increase of 11.5 per cent.
According to a recent survey from the Angus Reid Institute, seven out of 10 Canadians are affected by the delays in sending or receiving parcels.
The survey suggests 34 per cent of Canadians side with Canada Post, while 29 per cent support the union and 23 per cent support neither side.
Canada Post has had a long history of labour relations difficulties with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. There were at least 19 strikes, lockouts and walkouts from 1965 to 1997. Since that time, job actions have been less frequent.
In June 2011, a labour dispute took place, involving rotating strikes. Canada Post later locked out its union workers. This dispute lasted less than two weeks.
Then, in the fall of 2018, postal workers were on strike. A series of rotating strikes did not shut down Summerland’s post office but resulted in temporary shutdowns in larger cities. The federal government passed legislation to end that strike in late November of that year.
