Non-unionized employees at Canada Post branches in Bonnyville and Cold Lake have been told by their superiors to not accept any new mail or parcels from the public Wednesday morning, hours after Canada Post locked out thousands of unionized employees across Canada.
“Due to the current labour dispute, we are unable to accept any parcels or letters,” said an employee at the Bonnyville post office early Wednesday morning, hours after the national lockout began, forcing members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) off the job.
Canada Post management made the decision to lock out workers after members of CUPW had conducted a series of rotating strikes across the country for over a week.
Employees at the Bonnyville and Cold Lake post offices don't belong to CUPW, but have been told by their superiors to remain open for business even though they are not accepting any parcels or letters from members of the public.
“We're still delivering what was in the system before midnight Tuesday, but after midnight we have been told we're not allowed to accept any new mail,” said a spokesperson at the Cold Lake post office Wednesday morning. “We're still open and serving customers as best we can, but we're not taking any mail until we're told differently.”
She said she was told by her superiors “that things will change day to day” now that the national lockout is underway.
“We're supposed to be updated every night at 10 p.m. about what we're supposed to do,” she said.
CUPW national president Denis Lemelin said Wednesday morning “Canada Post is reneging on its responsibility to the public to deliver mail that has been paid for.” He called the lockout by Canada Post management “irresponsible.”
A response from Canada Post issued to news outlets early Wednesday morning stated, “If we allow the uncertainty created by the rotating strikes to continue, our ability to remain financially self-sufficient and not become a burden on Canadian taxpayers will be in jeopardy.”
Check out the Nouvelle's website for regular updates about the labour dispute between Canada Post and CUPW.
