OTTAWA, ON, May 7, 2024 /CNW/ - Postal workers have solutions – but will Canada Post and the Government listen?

"Public Postal services do have a future in this country and in the world. We have to grow toward it," says Jan Simpson, National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

Canada Post says they know they have to adapt and innovate – it's part of their mandate. As well, Canada Post must serve ALL of Canada but the Crown Corporation (CPC) is in fact resorting to selling off valuable subsidiaries: One, SCI Group, was profit-making. The other, Innovapost, was award-winning and represented much of the Corporation's IT innovation capability. As, well it is proposing rollbacks to employee benefits.

In its 2023 Annual Report, Canada Post Corporation posted its sixth straight annual loss from the Canada Post segment. It attributes the losses to increased parcel-delivery competition, the decline of letter mail, an increase in addresses and delivery costs.  But both CPC and the Federal Government say they're committed to the path forward to financial sustainability. CUPW believes that reimagining a postal service which offers expanded, innovative services – as many other postal services have done around the world – will put it on the right path. This will require a change in mindset and a change in track. The track Canada Post is currently on isn't working.

For nearly a decade, CUPW has been promoting its solutions as part of its Delivering Community Power campaign. Many of the solutions are already in practice in other postal jurisdictions, like senior check-ins in Japan or public postal banking in France (its postal bank is one of the world's leading banks).

"Postal workers have long known that transition is necessary – and have stepped up with solutions. The Corporation's response up to now has been to cut and move to franchises. Postal workers believe that growing and innovating to meet the needs of people, who cherish our postal services, is the real solution. It may not be the easy way, but it's right way," continues Simpson.

The Crown Corporation and the Union are currently in bargaining talks. The Union opposes Canada Post's proposed rollbacks in its members pension and health benefits. "Productivity is huge. Workers are earning every penny. But we're losing ground to inflation. We need to catch up, and keep up," says Ms. Simpson.

SOURCE Canadian Union of Postal Workers

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