After 32 days on the picket line, Canada Post workers in Fort St. John are back to work. However, the union that represents over 55,0000 employees says the strike is not over.
The President of Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 738 said, “job action lasted longer in Fort St. John in order to raise awareness about losing rural postal service.”
Babe Sequin said that local postal workers believe they have accomplished that goal and she believes the public is now aware of the issue.
Seguin is now urging residents across Northeast BC to reach out to their local Member of Parliament to tell Bob Zimmer what rural post office service means to them.
Two weeks ago, mail delivery slowly resumed across most of the country. But that was not the case in Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and two other rural towns in eastern Canada.
While most of Canada Post employees went back to work, the union moved to rotating strikes, starting with the 4 communities, in rural areas across Canada. Workers in the three other communities including Dawson Creek, have already gone back to work.
CUPW members have been without a collective agreement for almost 2 years. Negotiations are set to resume later this week. The crown corporation and the union both said there are plans to meet with a mediator, but no specific date was given.
In an interview after a parliamentary committee meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday, CUPW President Jan Simpson said, one of the barriers to reaching a deal has been excessive government involvement in bargaining.