Postal workers begin nationwide strike: union

Thousands of postal workers have begun a nationwide strike, the union representing them says, after negotiations with Canada Post failed to produce an agreement.

A statement Friday from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says around 55,000 postal workers began the strike just after midnight eastern time.

“After a year of bargaining with little progress, postal workers made the difficult decision to strike. Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day. Instead, Canada Post left us no choice when it threatened to change our working conditions and leave our members exposed to layoffs,” the statement said.

“Our demands are reasonable: fair wages, safe working conditions, the right to retire with dignity, and the expansion of services at the public post office. Postal workers are proud to serve their communities, and we want to do the job we love. A strike is a last resort. We still believe we can achieve negotiated collective agreements, but Canada Post must be willing to resolve our new and outstanding issues.”

This is a breaking story. More to come.