Mail Disruption Strikes 7 of 10 Canadians: POLL

12/04/2024

This is poll by the Angus Reid Institute:

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Black Friday week is the normally the busiest of the year for Canada Post, where it would be expected to deliver approximately two million packages each day.

However, ongoing strike action from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has seen silent days joining unseasonably early silent nights at Canada Post offices across the country. As the stalemate continues, Canadians are facing significant delays in sending and receiving their holiday well wishes and gifts.

Related: Study of union membership benefits and costs

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds seven-in-10 Canadians already affected by delays in either sending or receiving packages – a number that will only grow as the strike approaches the three-week mark.

The dispute centres around a number of different issues. Workers want a 24 per cent wage increase over four years and improved benefits including better sick leave. The union also disputes a push by Canada Post to add weekend deliveries and takes umbrage with the increasing number of part-time or contract workers Canada Post has been hiring. Canada Post is countering by suggesting that these changes are needed, given the financial pressures the crown corporation is facing, losing close to half a billion dollars in the first half of 2024.

As the two camps swap proposals, Canadians are evidently sympathetic to both sides of the debate. One-third (34%) say that Canada Post is right to push back on demands and attempt to change how the business operates, given the financial hemorrhage it has endured in recent years. Close to the same number (29%) say that they stand with the union in their demands. One-quarter (23%) offer sympathy to neither, and likely just want their letters and packages back on the move.