Some Manitobans oppose postal workers' stance, others side with them after strike ends
U of Manitoba professor says return to work will produce 'major point of frustration' for postal workers
News that Canada Post employees are being told to return to work Tuesday was met with mixed emotions from Manitobans on Monday.
The month-long impasse between the Canada Industrial Relations Board and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers ended after federal Labour Minister Stephen MacKinnon directed the board Friday to order the 55,000 picketing employees back to work.
A five per cent wage increase was agreed upon, and it will be implemented retroactive to the day after the collective agreements expired.
Brent Macfarlane isn't siding with the postal workers.
"It's different this time from previous mail strikes. I think people at work don't have a lot of sympathy, I'm afraid, because we are talking about people — they were making $19 [per hour] like 10, 15 years ago — so I understand they haven't had a raise for awhile, but they're not getting a lot of sympathy from anybody," he said at The Forks on Monday.
Joe Sie feels like the strike has gone on mostly unnoticed minus a wall in her home typically full of Christmas cards.
"I don't know if I have any strong opinion about them being forced back to work," she said.
"I don't know that I noticed all that much — other than the Christmas cards — that [Canada] Post was not functioning."
It's estimated that the strike created a backlog in excess of a "couple million" parcels during the holiday season, according to Canada Post.
The company said it will "take time" to clear the packages and letters that have been trapped for weeks.
Any new mail likely won't make it to its destination by Christmas, and delays are expected to continue into January, Canada Post said in a statement.
Service delays stemming from the postal stoppage are nothing new in Lynn Lake. The rural Manitoba community, located about 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, has been scrambling the last month, according to town councillor Vicki Phillips.
People from the community going to Thompson were asked to do things like pick up medication or take cheques to suppliers so that the town would be able keep getting essential items, she said.
"There's been panic on all sides."
Phillips, who is also a registered nurse, called the back-to-work order for postal workers "a lot of relief," but says there's still a lot of stress in the town.
"The town is unable to get out essential things such as water samples for the water supply. So there's a lot of things that are causing a lot of anxiety for people in that regard," she said on Information Radio.
The terms of the existing collective agreements for Canada Post employees will be extended until May 2025, but Phillips is concerned about potential discussions that could change the framework of the Crown corporation, especially for remote communities like Lynn Lake.
"Just because people can get out, not all of us can get to [Winnipeg]. I think they weren't considering the bigger picture of those of us that do not live within the city, and most of us that do not have the services that others have the privilege to have," Phillips said.
Government violating workers' right to strike: professor
An industrial inquiry commission will be established to find out why negotiations between the postal union and the industrial relations board failed to deliver a resolution.
The commission has been directed to deliver a report by May 15 to the labour minister, Canada Post and its union, providing suggestions for how to bring the parties together.
"They made a strategic decision to one let this strike go on as long as it did to provide a bit of cover, and two to use a different section of the [labour] code essentially to establish this industrial commission that's supposed to study the problems of Canada Post and make recommendations," Adam King said on Up to Speed.
"So we're essentially in limbo, I guess, until May while this commission concludes and negotiations can supposedly resume."
An assistant professor of labour studies at the University of Manitoba, King believes the holiday season and public opinion, especially from business owners, forced the government's hand.
LISTEN | U of Manitoba professor reacts to return-to-work order for Canada Post employees:
But more than anything, he is concerned by the government's decision to violate workers' rights to strike.
"I think you're going to see a lot of disgruntled and upset members return to the job [Tuesday], not only because their right to strike has been undermined but because they have to go to work under terms and conditions which they had brought to the table in need of updating and improvement," King said.
"So to tell them that they have to wait several months before many of these things are resolved is going to be a major point of frustration."
Canada Post will start accepting new mail on Thursday, a statement said. Service guarantees are also suspended as the company restarts operations.
WATCH / Remote communities heavily impacted by postal strike:
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With files from Shannah-Lee Vidal, Faith Fundal and Marcy Markusa