Home mail delivery ending in 2016 for Corner Brook, Stephenville areas
Canada Post is defending the move to eliminate door-to-door mail delivery in some western Newfoundland communities, but the union representing postal workers has concerns about how it will all play out.
Door-to-door delivery will be phased out by sometime in 2016 in Corner Brook, Massey Drive, Stephenville and Kippens.
Canada Post says the switch to community mailboxes won't result in layoffs for employees, and positions will be cut through attrition.
"We're not laying off anybody," said spokesperson Anick Lozier.
"We've told our employees that they have job security, and we fully intend to respect that."
Lozier told CBC's Corner Brook Morning Show that no jobs will be cut — and jobs or employees will be moved to ensure everyone is still working once the changes come into effect.
However, CUPW Local 39 president Krista Ricketts doesn't think that bodes well for the workers she represents.
"With the Corner Brook post office right now, if you look at people who are getting close to a retirement age, there's probably only five people," she said.
"If they cut the workforce in half, it's going to be hard to tell how 10 or 15 people are going to replace five."
Ricketts said there are 21 full-time letter carriers and one part-time in Corner Brook right now, and estimates Canada Post will only need about seven or eight positions once it goes to community mailboxes.
Canada Post conducting survey before installing mailboxes
Residents of Corner Brook, Massey Drive, Stephenville and Kippens can expect to have some input in to the design of the community mailboxes (CMB), Canada Post said.
The Crown corporation said it will be sending out information kits and surveys to households, asking for ideas to help plan the installation of CMBs.
The surveys will include questions on traffic, lighting and accessibility concerns.
Meanwhile, Ricketts doesn't understand why the area her union serves has to face the changes before other regions.
"I figured it would hit bigger centres before it hit Corner Brook, to make sure all of the kinks would be worked out of it," she said.
"We weren't really given any justification as to why Corner Brook was next."
However, Lozier said the reality is two thirds of the country already uses community mailboxes.
"We have about four-million addresses that we need to convert over the next three years, so bottom line we have to start somewhere," she said.
"The amount of mailed letters is slowly evaporating and that trend is going to continue — so we need to rethink our businesses model."