Kamloops postal workers could be back on the pickets lines on Thursday

“I find, especially on my route, I have over 800 calls and I’d say over 50 per cent to 70 per cent are totally with us in saying you don’t get anything unless you fight for it, so fight, fight, fight,” says President of the Kamloops Local Kellie Horncastle.

There was no mail delivered on Wednesday and may not be any on Thursday either as local workers prepare to be on the picket line again. If they are out on Thursday, the only mail to be delivered will be social assistance cheques.

“We always have delivered the social assistance cheques, and even if we’re on rotating strikes tomorrow, the cheques will go,” notes First-Vice President of CUPW Local 758 in Kamloops Patricia Nauss. “We do the cheques on Thursday, we’ll be delivering cheques. We have people that have volunteered to go deliver the cheques.”

The second such rotating job action comes as the Liberal government formally gave the House of Commons notice on Wednesday afternoon that they’re prepared to legislate Canada Post employees back to work.

It’s a move that doesn’t sit well with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) as they try to negotiate a deal in good faith.

“It doesn’t help us because now Canada Post will want to negotiate because if we’re going to be legislated back, what the heck are we going to negotiate?” says Nauss. “I honestly do not believe that Canada Post will come to the table willing to negotiate.”

The local union reps in Kamloops feel CUPW and Canada Post are still far from reaching a deal that would work for their members in terms of fewer forced overtime hours and better measures to protect workers’ health and safety.

“I get to deal with people that are injured and how they’re getting poorly treated by Canada Post,” notes Horncastle. “They’re being rushed back to work before they’re fully healed, so therefore they get more injured on top of their original injuries and they don’t heal. They’re just completely broken and there are some of them that aren’t broken but they’re on their way where their knees are starting to give out, their wrists are starting to give out.”

As the holiday season nears, Kamloops postal workers say they’re committed and excited to delivering some Christmas cheer. They just want their own little holiday cheer with a new deal from Canada Post.

by Chad Klassen

Kamloops postal workers could be back on the pickets lines on Thursday

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