The cheque is no longer in the mail, nor is anything else as Canada Post suspended postal operations across the country with a lockout Tuesday night.
The move came after 12 days of rotating strikes from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) hit various markets across the country. The lockout might be short-lived, however as the federal government announced they intend to introduce back-to-work legislation that would force both parties into arbitration.
Eugene Knapik, a spokesperson for Canada Post, said the company was facing losses of $100 million as a result of the strike.
Big commercial mailers were cancelling contracts and the company simply could not afford the ongoing dispute, he said.
"They were costing tremendous money, they were costing us part of our customer base, when a customer goes to an online billing situation we don't get that customer back."
Another impact of the strike was the drop-off in mail volume.
"Our mail volumes dropped right off so the longer it went on, the less people put in the system, the less people shipped packages," Knapik said.
Edmonton CUPW president Bev Ray said the lockout was completely unwarranted and sprung on employees with little notice.
"They were hauled into the cafeteria at about 9:15 p.m. — there were probably about 170 workers at work — and they were given less than 10 minutes to collect their belongings and leave."
Ray said the union wants to negotiate, but Canada Post has been extremely difficult to deal with at the table.
"This has been Canada Post's plan all along because that way they don't have to actually negotiate with us. They can have an arbitrator write the new agreement," she said, adding the union is worried such a process won't lead to a fair deal.
Knapik said Canada Post is also eager for a negotiation.
"Our very strong preference is to negotiate a settlement. It is the best thing for the company, for the union and for employees and we want to get that done before anyone imposes anything on us."
The union and Canada Post have agreed on many issues, but remain at odds over a proposed wage structure for new employees, a proposed modernization plan and staffing levels.
Angela Chatwin, manager of the Bookstore on Perron, which ships and receives a lot of packages, said they haven't had a big problem adjusting to the situation.
"Not getting our mail is a bit of a hindrance, but anything we send out, we just choose an alternate method."
The government's back-to-work legislation was to be introduced early next week, but it was unclear how long it might take to make its way through Parliament and how long it could take to restart the system.
The Alberta government responded to the lockout, by activating its emergency mail plan, which will allow people to drop off any mail bound for a government department at any government office.
The government is not collecting stamps for the service and will also drop off some mail at nearby government offices.
As part of an agreement between Canada Post and the CUPW, pension cheques and several other socio-economic cheques will be delivered next week, regardless of the lockout.
Newspaper drop-off locations
Even though rural carriers are not covered under the CUPW, mail in rural areas is expected to slow down and eventually stop altogether.
The Gazette does not anticipate that Sturgeon County readers will receive their Wednesday edition and will be placing newspaper boxes throughout the county.
A full list of those locations is now available online at www.stalbertgazette.com. Delivery within St. Albert is not affected.
