For almost a week the employees at Canada Post have been walking the picket lines in Williams Lake and across the country.
But media reports Monday indicated the strike could be short lived. Labour Minister Lisa Raitt was expected to introduce a bill containing back-to-work legislation in the House of Commons Monday that would be debated later in the week.
“As a labour union we support free collective bargaining and the right to strike is an essential component of that concept,” said Ivan Bonnell, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 854. “Back-to-work legislation strips workers of those rights and on that simple premise we don’t support it.”
The two sides have been negotiating since October 2010; Canada Post employees have been without a contract since Jan. 31. Working conditions, safety issues, wage and pension differentials for new employees are some of the issues that concern the union.