Striking workers at the St. Albert
Post Office returned to work this morning (Friday) after being ordered to end
their wildcat walkout by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).

The Rural and Suburban Mail
Carriers (RSMCs) began a wildcat strike on Tuesday to protest arbitrary cuts to
their wages that were imposed by Canada Post. Word spread quickly across
the country and letters of support in solidarity streamed in from citizens and
trade-union organizations.

Officials with the Canadian
Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) will meet with Canada Post today to try to
resolve any remaining issues that triggered the strike at the distribution
centre in St. Albert.

Bev Ray, president of the
Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Local 730 in Edmonton, apologized for
any inconvenience caused by this service disruption. “We hope that
customers understand how important it was for these workers to take this action
to protect their livelihoods and the future of their families,” she said.

About 15 RSMCs walked off the
job after being told, without advance notice, that the parcel rate that
determines their pay for parcels they deliver was being cut. The carriers, who
use their own vehicles and pay for their own insurance to deliver the mail, get
paid by an averaged rate of mail delivered, so a cut in parcel rate means a cut
in pay that could come to thousands of dollars per year even though they still
have to deliver the same amount of parcels.

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For more information contact Bev Ray, President @ 780) 423-9000, ext. 223
or (780) 719-4555 union@cupwedm.net