Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in Victoria as the union begins rotating 24-hour strikes across Canada.
Victoria is among Canadian cities where postal workers have gathered on the picket line Monday morning.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUP-W) began 24-hour strikes after midnight in Victoria, Edmonton, Windsor, Ontario and at 1 a.m. in Halifax.
The union says mail will still be delivered in the cities affected but will be delayed.
Canada Post says business will proceed as usual at other locations but mail and parcels will not be picked up or delivered where walkouts are taking place.
CUPW started 24-hour rotating strikes in Victoria, Edmonton, Windsor & Halifax after 12:01 am local time today. In those areas, mail/parcels won’t be delivered/picked up. We’re accepting & delivering mail/parcels everywhere else: https://t.co/bxq6HNAfDJ
— Canada Post (@canadapostcorp) October 22, 2018
The union threated strike action would take place if a deal could not be reached with the Crown corporation before its strike deadline.
A Canada Post spokesperson said it offered the union representing 50,000 of its employees a deal that included wage hikes, job security, improved benefits and no concessions.
But CUP-W President Mike Palecek says key issues that include better health and safety measures and gender equality were not resolved.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says small businesses are being left in the cold because of the strike action.
CFIB news release: Canada Post strike threatens small businesses heading into holiday seasonhttps://t.co/dBFmya9BYx
— Dan Kelly (@CFIB) October 22, 2018
CFIB President Dan Kelly said in a statement Monday morning the mail service is an important one for small businesses, who use Canada Post to ship goods, sending invoices and receiving payments.
Kelly added the CFIB is calling on the two sides to “be reasonable and come to a quick compromise.”
Federal Labour Minister Patty Hajdu says she is monitoring the situation and encourages both sides to continue negotiations until a settlement is reached.
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