What would privatizing Canada Post mean for rural mail delivery?

Canada Post is already a corporation. Changing the ownership of that corporation will change nothing IF all of the regulated mandates are in place. (Things like a postage stamp for delivery to ANY area of the country)

If you think you can build a better postal sevice - get at it. I think a competative service may be able to make it but right now the courier companies have great service and high rates. Do not see that changing any time soon.

The real crunch will come when other methods of service become more used. The last big poatal fight was technological change. I see this as the forerunner of more technological change. The last time we lost many postal workers. This time we will lose many more.

The fight will be bitter and will be lost!

While I appreciate that postal workers have the right to strike due to union rules, I believe that mail delivery should be deemed an essential service to everyone.

Pensions are always a debatable subject, but the average person does not have a private pension plan so does not have the luxury of looking forward to more money being available to them for their retirement.

I think the gist of all strikes is job security. This is an impossible dream as everyone is dispensable. There is always someone to replace a worker when firing or downsizing occurs in a company. I wish all union workers would look at the average worker and consider what they have is good. Money does not buy happiness, it only perhaps makes life a little easier.

Let the postal workers continue to strike. Let them prove to the world that they have rights and that their union has power. Let them stand solid for job security, great pay and great pensions. I say let them continue to strike right through to next year and beyond.
Who will give a crap?
The postal service is redundant. Its an un-necessary service bleeding this country dry. The only mail I receive is junk mail. I may be mailed a new credit card, and my land taxes come in the mail. Any other mail is birthday cards or Christmas cards. The credit cards can be couriered to my bank where I can pick them up. My taxes can be billed and paid on line just like all the other billings I have. Even greeting cards can be sent electronically. There is no need what-so-ever for me to even have a mailbox. It would not take much for everyone to convert all their necessary mail over to electronic mail. The systems are in place now and it cost nothing.
Rural folks can be serviced by the 10% of Canada post that is left after the other 90% of Canada post finally realizes that they can no longer support themselves on strike pay, and smarten up and take on other jobs. That's if they can find other jobs and can swallow the hard pill that they have been grossly overpaid for their skill lever. Now they will find out what their skill level is really worth. Try $10 an hour, if your lucky reduced benefits, and try no pension.
Yeah! keep on striking! Knowing your job is not needed, you are not needed. Strike yourself right out of a job.

We should all remember that if the proposed changes go through on the pension plans with Canada Post then no company or job pension will be safe for our children and their children. Both sides should go back to negotiating but leave the benefits and pensions alone. Nothing is won or protected without sacrifice. These are the people that are out working in any weather, have to deal with circumstances like uncontrolled pets and have to listen complaints that they cannot solve.

Many people are dismissing the issue of pensions saying well I don’t have one so…...

No enough people in both government and business are thinking about what the impact will be to the country if we end up with huge generation of impoverished elderly. The finical and economic outcome of that possibility ought be scaring the pants off of every CEO and MP. If a large segment of your population is impoverished who will buy a business’s products or pay taxes to support government. It’s really in the interests of government, business and the country that we avoid creating a generation of impoverished elderly. Failure to address this comes at huge cost to everyone ...everyone!

WRT: to rural delivery and privatization the impact may be less the people think because rural delivery is already effectively privatized. In rural areas mail delivery is put out to tender for individuals to bid on. The contract each year and generally awarded to the lowest bidder. Post offices are run as kiosks in other businesses.

Canada Post is still an important part of our delivery service. Some correspondence has to go by registered mail, with guaranteed delivery. Having said that, I point out the following:

1. There is no delivery to our community post boxes in inclement weather.

2. There is no delivery if the snow is not cleared in front of the boxes.

3. There are an unacceptable number of misdirected items.

4. Our passports, that were supposed to be delivered to the door, were redirected to the local third party sub-station.

5. Last Christmas we went 11 days without mail delivery due, aparently, to employee holidays and sick time. This is unacceptable.

6. Even though I pay my bills on-line, a company that owes me a refund cannot pay me because of the strike, even though the company was paid on-line.

One other thing I would like to say: Would anyone like to carry a 30 to 50 pound sack of mail for 20 Km after the age of 55? I don't think so. The inside workers have to operate high speed, dangerous machines......would you want to do that past 55 years of age? Perhaps these employees could be retrained at 55 to do less streuous or less dangerous work after 55....build that into the contract. I have never worked in the post office, but I think a lot of people underestimate what the workers go through. Just my humble opinion.

when will the union leaders relize that they are nolonger needed and just make life hard for workers ... oh ya they wont!!! cuz they still get full pay when the actual workers are walking the line for dollars a day. Poeple this aint the 20's unions have stayed long past there prime!

Making buggy whips, the record stores, the book stores, the travel agencies.....and the postal service. So why do we reward these people with up to seven !! weeks paid holidays, retirement with an indexed pension at age 55, $29.00/hour wages just to name a few. Benefits like these would turn a greek communist party instigator turn red with envy. So wake up Canada Post Union and welcome to the 21. century and computerized EMAIL ! delivery.

I realize alot of hostility comes from jealousy. I have been with the cp for 24 years and this contract wil determine how soon I can retire... I started healthy 24 years ago, now I have had bunions removed, carperl tunnel surgery, knee surgery the list goes on. I am in good shape regardless.. come walk with me during a blizzard, come deal with jerks on the road who think it is funny, to soak me, or pretend they are going to hit me with their cars..... deal with the nasty ass dogs who never get used to you no matter how many years you spend on the same route. oh, lets not forget the ice, that always makes for a good time...., for the most part I have the best customers and still in spite of it all love my job....and a great job i do to provide you with this service.! Never would you get the kind of service if you privatize... thanks for the vent
! still happy after all these years.

Canada Post has a mandate to deliver the mail to every 'address' in Canada. I do not think that a private 'carrier' has this capability.

The CUPW union needs to understand that times are changing and to retain their salaries, benefits, sick leave and vacation they have to concede to the challenges that Canada Post is undergoing. Computers have changed the way people do business....and after the last big strike many Canadians changed their methods from receiving mail to having direct mail into their banking accounts as an example.

No one wants anyone to loss their jobs, but in this ecomony with everyone struggling CUPW should think hard and do what is right for the Corporation which employees their people

Hi there,

Stop this play! people work for much lower fees and with no medical benifits and without any pension plan and without yearly vocation. And the conditions sometimes are worse than yours! Any job should be paied according to qualification and may i ask what your level of education you have? It's just a Blackmail bringing inconvinience to public mainly to elderly people who can't use computers. Shame on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sooz,

How about you try going to Russia, Ukraine, African countries and start working as a mail carrier there for 1, 2 or 3 dollars an hour. The weather conditions are pretty much similar. Jealousy you say? You make us puke. 24 years of great pay, undeserved benefits. If you don't like the blizzard and the nasty dogs, please, do us a favor. Quit this job! But, hey, you are enjoying it, because who else in the world gets overpaid for just delivering mail? Most of the time, useless.

Privatize and the service will improve simply based on competition . Canada post has been asleep at the wheel for years . Examples would include FedEX , UPS and DHL ect comming into the picture and taking market share away from Canada Post(Purolator) .

And in regards to Canada Post laborers , well some are good and some are not so good , however that is not the debate here . It's time to remove the Canada Post monopoly and privatize ..........

Good Luck to all who labor for Canada Post .

THANK GOODNESS I DO INTERNET BANKING AND MOSTLY MY BUSINESS DEALING USING EMAIL, FAX
TEXTING AND I USE PRIVATE COURIERS. THEY ARE OVERPAID LAZY EMPLOYEES. I KNOW PEOPLE WHO USES SICK LEAVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT SICK. THEY MISUSE THEIR BENEFITS WHICH ARE PRIVILEGES NOT THEIR RIGHTS.

I dont know what is Canada Post workers salary but the salary suppose to be adequate to skills. What kind of skills do you need to this job Just good health They dont need to carry 50lb bag-it can be solve in different way. I had a lot of trouble with receiving mail on time Very often my mail was send to different address and kind people delivered to my door Privatize-in USA mail is delivered 2 times a day and Suturdays and is much chiper than in Canada!!!!

People should stop blaming the union or the laborers for demanding fair compensation in regards to their standards . Corporations have been generating extreme wealth for themselves off of the back of laborors since the begining of time .

There is nothing wrong with asking for part of that wealth to be shared with those(laborors) who help you generate it .

Not because some corporation down the road takes advantage of their laborors by offering little or no benefits what-so-ever , does it mean that Postal Laborors should lower their standards .

Most of you don't even understand why a '' Union '' had to come into the picture in the first place . As a laborer you have a right to demand fairness , good compensation and benefits for helping a company build their fortunes . There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting or asking to have the necessary means to build a comfortable standard of living while you labor for a particular company .

If a company mismanages its business and the result is lower profits , thus wanting to cut the benefits of its laborors to compensate for the loss , then that is an administration problem , not a unionized problem .

Here you have an example of poor management attempting to penalize its laborers for a mistake that has been committed by poor management . Now is that fair ?

I think it is time to privatize Canada Post. I think the union had its place but today is out of date. I believe an environment where everyone is responsible and is paid accordingly for the value of the work they provide is fair and equitable. Too many unions have built inefficient organizations based on bureaucracy.

It amazes me how many people are willing to drop the standard of living we enjoy in Canada. Just because someone has it a little better than others, they are willing to sit by and watch the economy go into the toilet even further. Let's get rid of all the decent paying jobs until everyone is working for 10/12 bucks an hour. And for no other reason than jealousy. Privatize, it'll make it cheaper....no it won't. Competetion, they'll have to do it cheaper. Everyone take a cut in pay and benefits....WHY....Why not have the attitude....HEY I WANT THAT TOO! I don't see anything getting cheaper as a result of lower wages in this country. Why should the postal workers have to take a cut in pay to match other public servants, why not bring the pay of other workers up to theirs, thus, increasing the standard of living of those people, who in turn, spend more money, supporting communities and local businesses? Wages up=good for Canada. Wages down=bad for Canada.

Privatize, privatize,privatize, bunch of spoiled children, to good to long caompared to the taxpayers who foot the bills.

Entry level job at research that requires Master Degree is paid $12-14/hr. CP entry level pays $18.
I wonder if it's fair.