(Contributed photo/ Bill Kilsby)

By Ian Gustafson

Postal Strike

Red Deer postal workers feeling defeated after government decision

Dec 17, 2024 | 2:58 PM

Red Deer postal workers are angry and upset after being forced to return to work on Tuesday.

For the first time in over a month, 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) returned to delivering mail across Canada after the federal government stepped in to end the strike.

President of the CUPW Local 818 in Red Deer, Bill Kilsby said a lot of the members are in shock and are devastated.

“We were really hoping for a new negotiated contract… We knew that the union had put forth a contract offer on the Monday and we had met halfway on so many things, and Canada Post never even responded to that offer,” he said.

“Just seeing the government had abused its powers to force us back to work without a contract it really makes us feel like we don’t have the ability to strike without government overreach. There’s a lot of people who are pretty upset right now.”

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Labour Minister Steven Mackinnon told the Canada Industrial Relations Board last week to send Canada Post workers back to work if they determined a deal wasn’t doable by the end of the year.

After two hearings over the weekend, the two sides were at an impasse and were not going to be able to reach a deal at this time.

As a result, the employees were ordered back to work under their existing contracts, which were extended until May when they return to the bargaining table.

Kilsby explained their are some CUPW regions from across the country who are defying the order. The local union waited until last night before they made the decision to not defy the order and return to their jobs. That decision came from the national executive board.

“There are many still on the picket lines from coast to coast still striking and it’s inspiring seeing their willing to do that,” he said. “We’re waiting to see what our next steps will be here in Red Deer. We all love our jobs and love our customers but we just wanted to go back on a fair contract.”

Approximately, 160 workers were off the job in Red Deer after the strike began on Nov. 15, which temporarily shutdown operations across the country.

Workers were striking for basic human rights such as fair living wages, safe working environments, and to retire with dignity, among other items.

With negotiations set to return in May, Kilsby questions if discussions will move forward since Canada Post was unwilling to come to a deal this time around.

“We’ve been put in a really tough place and we really felt so much support from the community,” Kilsby said. “We went back to work today but we’re watching carefully what’s happening in the rest of Canada and what our next move will be.”

-With Files from the Canadian Press