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[Realboss]

I usually don't get involved with political discussion but this issue is really starting to get me pissed.  I wasn't angry when the employees went on strike because they did it in a way that minimized the disruption of mail flow(we get our mail maybe 4 times a week at most anyway).  Mind you I didn't see how effective or like stated in another reply what pressure the revolving strike would have put on CanPost.  But what gets me is Canada Post issues a statement that this little stunt will cause a logistical nightmare and cost millions of dollars in lost revenues, yet they turn around and lock out the employees anyway.  Causing no mail to flow whatsoever.  With regards to the back to work legislation I don't agree with the Tories changing the employee wage rate from what was agreed upon in the new contract,  but I certainly don't agree with the NDP's delaying tactic of tying up congress when we should potentially be getting mail early next week.  For such a necessary service the government should have ordered arbitration from the on set of all this mess.  If it wasn't a serious issue this whole thing is laughable.

I only wish the other shippers were cheaper and carried affordable letter post and if I wasn't worried about the employees losing their livleyhoods I would never use Canada Post again.

[ARROW]

Its all strategies and tactics. The lockout by Canada Post was a tactic to get the Government to act. Both sides in the dispute are so far apart that trying to negotiate face-to-face would never come to anything. Having the dispute arbitrated means that Canada Post Corp comes out AHEAD regardless if they don't get everything they want. Once the government orders the workers back to work, the arbitration period will seek to arrive at a BALANCED settlement, which mean the workers will get less of their demands than Canada Post will of their demands.

If anything, the strike is an illustration of how badly managed the postal union is. They had 14 years to push for incremental wage increases and locked in benefits for new workers, but they chose to wait. Now they are asking for something that might just not be sustainable in any sense, and they'll NOT get what they want when the government arbitrates a settlement. But this "crisis management" style is how both Canada Post and the postal union have run things for many years now.
What its going to mean for all of us is that there will be future disputes and disruptions in years to come.
I would just forget about the notion of postage rates remaining stable at all--postage WILL rise and likely will very soon after this strike is over.

[aaronxvx]

Postal strike is apparently over now?

I don't see why Canada Post should remain a crown corp. Why not privatize it and allow competition for other carriers to make postage more affordable?
Anything more than a letter to a parcel that can fit through their slot just turns into getting robbed.

I used to actively run a small vinyl distro and it's painful having to compromise on shipping rates, because even Canadian customers would pay less for shipping from someone in the US, and it's hard to convince US customer's to pay twice the cost of shipping they would through USPS. I know  part of the reason CPs rates are so high is because we don't have the same infrastructure as USPS and our population isn't as dense, but even their small business program (I forget the name of it) which is supposed to give you discounts is ridiculous, and still asks you to pay full retail price for packaging materials.

If we allowed other competitors delivering the same services, I think the rates would get better, and we wouldn't have to worry about the mail service, which so many people rely on being strangled because of disputes like this.
I'm not sure of how it would work to let other companies handle the mail, but I think it would be a better situation than being left with no other choice.