Rural post offices to remain open even if strike happens

As of Monday, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) were in last minute negotiations to prevent the onset of rotating overtime refusal, beginning in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

On Friday, Tofield Postmaster Barry Robinson tried to reassure local residents after the union representing Canada Post employees gave 72-hour strike notice last Thursday.

“We will still be at work,” he said. “The counter staff is not part of it.” That’s because the union representing these workers settled their contract already.

So any mail that makes it to the local post office will be sorted and placed in mail boxes that are within the building. That means that whatever mail makes it to Tofield will be delivered.

The sticking point is with the rural deliveries, however. “The people who deliver the mail, the rural drivers, are part of the union,” Robinson explained. These drivers are part of a larger Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), who as of Monday have been locked in a dispute with Canada Post over two main issues: the future of pensions and equal pay for rural employees… FOR MORE SEE THE AUG 30/16 MERCURY