Labour Pains

All signs point to the Canada Post strike ending not through negotiation, but through government order.

Canada Post and its 48,000 employees have about 24 hours to come to a collective bargaining agreement, or the Conservative government will force them back to work after striking for 18 days. Lorne Gunter questions in the National Post why the Tories got involved in the fracas, as “almost no one cares yet that the mail is not being delivered.” Whatever short-term gains are to be had are outweighed by the fact that Canada Post's leaden monopoly on mail delivery hasn't been dealt with – nor have concerns about the company's pension – and no mind has been paid to what precedent it sets for future labour strife. Gunter figures the tactic “amounts to choosing bullying over boldness,” as it's “easier to force a settlement and ignore the question of privatization than it is to make the case for getting rid of Canada Post.”

As far as ending that monopoly goes, Larry MacDonald of Canadian Business gives 20 reasons why mail delivery should be opened up to competition. Some of his points are certainly worth considering, notably that “Canadian Crown corporations privatized between 1985 and 1996 (including Air Canada, CN Railway, Petro-Canada, etc.) increased profitability, efficiency, and capital expenditures while reducing debt ratios,” and that “Canada Post’s obligation to provide universal service doesn’t require a state monopoly; it can be met by private companies operating within an appropriately designed regulatory framework.” So, we have precedent for competition and a way of making sure mail is still delivered to far-flung addresses across this vast country. All we're lacking is a government with the courage to do it.

The Toronto Star's Thomas Walkom looks at how each party in play will benefit from the strike and subsequent legislation, concluding, “everyone wins. Except, of course, the workers.” Canada Post gets to pay its workers less than it had originally offered; the Tories get to look decisive while sticking it to an ideological foe; the NDP solidifies its pro-labour bona fides; the Liberals can use Prime Minister Stephen Harper's intervention as another example of his authoritarian ways. It's just too bad that thousands of postal workers who made this all happen get next to nothing but a negligible pay increase for their efforts. You could probably add “the public” to the list of losers as well, as we get nothing but a preservation of an untenable status quo and a bunch of outdated junkmail when services resume.