Stop plans for postal cuts until after election, union says

A summer union campaign sees postal workers driving across the country in a white RV with "Stop the Cuts – Save Canada Post" splashed along its sides in bright red, holding public meetings along the way, to campaign against plans to end home delivery of mail.

"Our message to Stephen Harper and his Conservatives: you cannot run, you cannot hide from these cuts," said Mike Palecek, National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in a press release. 

On July 21, the union condemned the delivery cuts, saying they will hurt hurt seniors, people with disabilities and communities all across the country.

"The people of this country and most federal parties are united in their opposition to the home mail delivery cuts" said Palecek. "We all want a halt to the devastation at our profitable, public post office."

In March, Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault took part in a door-to-door campaign, asking people to sign a petition to tell the federal government about the importance of home delivery.

“Calls continue to come into my office daily with people concerned about mail delivery,” the NDP MPP said in the release. “There is a groundswell of support for our postal workers and the importance of the services they provide. We need to make the government listen.”

While the number of letters it deals with is dropping, there is a surge in parcel traffic, which Canada Post has said requires a fundamental change in the way it handles the mail. And the letters still being sent are items that can't be sent electronically, such as driver's licences and other official documents.

Canada Post plans to end home delivery over the next five years to the five million homes that still receive it, switching them to the community mailboxes that two-thirds of Canadians are already using. The switch will lead to substantial savings, the company said Wednesday.

Canada Post announced in December a five-point plan to reform the way it operates. End home delivery is expected to save the corporation $400 million to $500 million in operating costs once fully implemented. Staffing levels will also be cut by 6,000 to 8,000 workers, mainly through attrition.