Postal workers hit the picket lines

Unionized postal workers formed picket lines in the cold, wet weather outside the Canada Post hub in Halifax on Friday.

They held handmade signs reading “Proud to be a postie” and “Postman Pat deserves better than that.”

The picket lines surround the Almon Street sorting station. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) stood in the rain holding signs to demand wage increases.

CUPW went on a nationwide strike beginning Friday morning just after midnight.

Union members on the picket lines refused to comment, but referred The Signal to Dwayne Corner, CUPW Nova local president, who did not immediately respond.

In an online statement, the national office of CUPW said the union is demanding wage increases, safer working conditions, enhanced retirement benefits, and the expansion of postal services.

Canada Post, in its own online statement, said the “strike will cause service delays for Canadians.” Mail will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the strike and some post offices will be closed. Once operations resume, items will be “secured and delivered as soon as possible.”

This could be an issue for Canadians sending documents to the government.

A press release from Service Nova Scotia advised people to use online services in government correspondence. They recommend sending information by email, fax, or dropping off documents in person.

The union has picket lines near the Canada Post front entrance on Almon Street and near the back entrance on Monaghan Drive.

Other signs held by the postal workers read, “Equal pay for equal work” and “No tiered wages.”