Hundreds of Canada Post workers striking across Avalon Peninsula

Hundreds of Canada Post employeesacross the Avalon Peninsula walked out of their jobs Friday morning as part of rotating strikes affecting the entire country.

Outside thesorting station on KenmountRoad in St. John's, Craig Dyer, president of the city's Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) local, told CBCNews he wason the picket line surrounded by nearly 150 of his fellow workers.

"We've been ready now for a couple weeks, and it wasn't very much this morning to walk into the postal facility and say that we're out," Dyer said.

Mail carriers at nearly 30 other offices across the Avalon were also on the lineas of 8 a.m. Friday. Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.,is also part of the day's rotating strikes.

"Since October22, CUPW's rotating strikes have now shut down CanadaPost's operations in more than 60 communities across the country," said a statement from Canada Post.

The word to walk outcame down from the union's national leadership late Thursday night, he said, and CUPWlocals inthe rest of the province are ready and waiting for their signal, too.

There's no telling how long the strikes could last, he said.

"We don't know if it's 24, 48, 72 [hours], we're just waiting for direction from our national leadership."

While the strikes continue, mail and parcels in the affected areas will not be delivered, Canada Post said.

Part of a national effort

The strike on the Avalon is part ofa national CUPWrotating strike effort that has so far affected many major cities in the country including Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto.

Canada Post said in its statement that the strikes have impacted its three largest processing facilities in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver for up to 48 hours, leading tomail backlogs and service delays.

"Combined, these three plants process a million parcels and packets a day for communities across the country and are key to our national, integrated delivery network," the statement said.

The union's demands from the postal service includeimproved job security, an end to forced overtime, and improvements to health and safety protection.

"We have many carriers in St. John's [where]it's common for them to work 10, 11, 12 hours a day while part-timers and temporaries sit home not earning any money," he said.

The union wants Canada Post to provide greater job security through the creation of more full-time positions, arguing that temporary workers are consistently paid less, have no guaranteed hours and have no access to health or dental benefits.

The federal government named a special mediator Wednesday in hopes of ending the rotating walkouts. Canada Post said it is committed to the bargaining process and has made "significant offers" to CUPW.

Dyer said he believes the move was intended to "force the hand" of Canada Post to "negotiate in good faith," butthat so far, he hasn't seen any sign of that.

"We believe that it's going to escalate even more as time goes on," he said.

Workers on the Avalon are "very excited" to be on the line, Dyer said, and the atmosphere at the Kenmount Road sorting station is "fantastic."

"Postal workers wanted to do this," he said.

"This is the only opportunity that postal workers get to show their employer their displeasure."

With files from the St. John's Morning Show

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