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By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Strikes like that at Canada Post need to be resolved from within

Nov 28, 2024 | 6:00 AM

THE STRATEGIES SURROUNDING STRIKES have always fascinated me. Why was this or that item the dealbreaker? Why do some of the issues seem to be so trivial and far too minor to lead to a strike?

In the case of Canada Post, the future of the entire postal system is at risk. Postal workers don’t make much money and certainly they deserve more. But the system as a whole has outlived its usefulness and needs more than a little pity money to provide a strong long-term operation.

There are no resources to revamp the post office into a long-term successful business. Other forms of delivery have crept into the system. So-called ‘gig’ operations, outside the scope of union protection, have provided cheaper service with little red tape. The post office cannot hope to compete, because it has a different mandate.

When strikes of this nature occur, at this time of year, the general population gets angry because their Christmas cards and parcels won’t get delivered on time. It’s a pressure tactic. I sympathize but I am far more sympathetic to the plight of an institution and its workers trying to stay alive and provide some sort of long-term stability that no gig operator skimming only the profit centers of the postal service will ever match.

I would much rather the postal service and its workers sit down and iron out something that will work in the long term, rather than rely on binding arbitration or some other form of outside interference which will only provide a stopgap solution. The adversarial model results in a lot of bad feelings and only minor progress. There is no trust to speak of, and so we have a strike designed to put pressure on the employer, but only leads to bad feelings between the corporation, the union and now the public.

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Strikes like that at Canada Post need to be resolved from within

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Sadly, people are reluctant to try new ideas, so it’s likely that large corporations like Canada Post will remain mired in a mudhole that will never be filled.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.