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As Canada Post’s 55,000 workers approach the end of their first week on strike, it is increasingly clear that their fight for real wage increases, job protection and safe working conditions politically opposed to the entire ruling class. Long-running discussions among the economic elite about the need to cut thousands of full-time jobs, end daily delivery, and sell out post offices underscore that striking postal workers are not fighting simply for a new contract. On the contrary, they are involved in a political struggle which must become the spearhead of a working class counter-offensive against capitalist austerity and the “principle” of profit if they are to prevail.

Media reports on the negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW have largely been framed in formal terms. A new federal mediator took charge of the talks Monday, prompting CUPW to say in a negotiation update that the employer’s “movement” was evident on “urgent issues.” Regardless of these vague statements, the fact is that what is happening is not real negotiations, with CUPW fighting for the interests of the workers against those of the employer. Instead, they are all conspiring to determine how best to impose a deal that will facilitate an unprecedented restructuring of Canada Post’s operations at the expense of all workers. As CUPW President Jan Simpson candidly admitted: “We recognize the challenges our employer faces, and our goal is not simply to make demands, but to work together to find solutions. »

An opinion article published in May 2024 in the Globe and Mailthe mouthpiece of the Bay Street financial oligarchy, written by Ian Lee. Lee served as director of corporate finance for the Crown corporation in the 1980s and co-authored a 2015 report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute that called for a massive attack on postal workers. Declaring that Canada Post is engaged in an “existential struggle,” Lee demanded that the federal government “legislate to impose urgent structural reforms.” These changes include ending the “unsustainable decision to continue home delivery” of mail and parcels, selling its infrastructure of 3,000 post offices to real estate developers and adopting a “franchise” model. » with private companies, and the imposition of “dynamic route planning”. …in every community across Canada. Under dynamic routing, postal workers no longer have a fixed mail route, but are assigned a different route each day by AI based on mail volume and significantly increased workload.

After outlining the key legislative changes he and his colleagues in the business and political establishment are calling for, Lee got to the heart of the matter by writing:

Then there is the reduction in labor costs. While Canada Post’s mail volumes have declined by 60 percent since 2006, the number of employees has only declined by 5 percent over the same period. Collective agreements and executive compensation must use the number of parts delivered per work hour as a key indicator for determining compensation. As volumes continually decline, Canada Post must reduce its labor costs through attrition, retirements and buyouts.