The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) local in the South Cariboo is echoing concerns from its fellow union members across the country after Canada Post recently announced it will sever its door-to-door postal service.
Within five years, the more than 1.29 million Canadians, who currently get their mail in a box at their home (excluding rural boxes at roadsides), will be picking up their letters and packages at central community boxes.
Canada Post states that over the next five years, it will eliminate 6,000 to 8,000 positions. However, it notes most of these will be through attrition, as 15,000 workers are expected to leave the company for other reasons, such as retirement, within that period.
CUPW Local #854 president Bev Goldstone says she has reservations about the accuracy of these numbers.
"The biggest impact for our branch right now is in the letter-carrier sector, and in the [mail sorting] plant ... where it has become more and more automated."
Beginning next year, much of the mail will arrive in the Cariboo pre-sorted, from Vancouver's central postal plant, and eliminate even more jobs, she explains.
Most of the lost jobs will be among the 40 or so members working in Williams Lake, as there isn't any doorstep delivery happening further south in its membership territory.
"It's going to probably eliminate at least a third to a quarter of our workforce in Williams Lake. Mostly they are just going after small towns because it's not cost effective – you can't go to Bella Coola on 63 cents a letter. But, you can't make people pay more because they live in a remote area."
Therein lies the rub for many of Canada Post's cost issues, Goldstone explains, in trying to service a huge country with so many rural residents.
"The elimination of door-to-door delivery is really going to affect our seniors [and] those with disabilities who have issues getting to the mailboxes."
Finding suitable locations for the community mailboxes will create another "huge" issue, she adds.
"Who wants 30 mail boxes in front of their house?"
Increases
to postage also has many of these union members concerned.
Goldstone says her local members met to discuss impacts on Dec. 12, and most feel the magnitude of the 22- to 37-cent increase for standard letter postage "make no sense," since it is sure to reduce revenues by encouraging fewer stamp purchases.
"Who is going to want to pay 85 cents to $1 for a stamp? I think more and more people will just go to e-mail, [or] find other ways to go."
Meanwhile, as letter mail volume drops, its parcel business has increased "astronomically" in the past two years, Goldstone notes.
"I think Canada Post is looking to parcels as their new business."
Canada Post states prices for parcels and advertising mail is not going up.
Goldstone explains work hours are being cut at post offices more and more all the time.
"They are automating a lot of what we do and eliminating a lot of those jobs through attrition – and we see that is a part of what has to happen because letter mail is dropping."
However, she says a better solution to more drastic changes is to encourage postal banking and an increase in parcel business.
"Cutbacks and hiking the price of stamps is not the way to go – expanding services is.
"I remember when they used to make it cheaper to send Christmas cards, you paid less postage. And we saw 10 times the number of Christmas cards went out."
Now all that revenue will continue to drop until it is lost altogether, Goldstone explains.
"Let's get people on the path to use the system. Now, it seems like they are [saying] 'we don't want you to use the system'."