July 4, 2008
Canada Post Strategic Review: Stamp out deregulation!
The federal government is in the midst of a “strategic review” of Canada Post. The future of the post office and the people who work there is being decided by a panel of government-appointed “experts” – all behind closed doors, with little input from the public.
While the government has said that it won’t privatize Canada Post, it hasn’t ruled out deregulation. Deregulation of Canada Post would threaten the quality and availability of mail delivery across Canada, lead to massive job losses and could increase postal rates. It could also threaten the privacy and security of the mail.
Here are three reasons why the federal government must stamp out deregulation at Canada Post:
- Universal postal delivery could be at risk. As it stands, Canada Post has the “exclusive privilege” to deliver letters. This means that in exchange for the right to be the only organization that delivers the mail, Canada Post guarantees service to everyone in Canada, no matter where they live. Removing the exclusive privilege would erode Canada Post’s revenue base, as private companies would scoop up a lot of the business in urban areas, leaving the post office to serve more remote communities. This would place an undue cost burden on the public post office, and could lead to higher postage rates.
- Deregulation leads to the loss of good jobs. As we’ve seen in many other instances, deregulation creates a “race to the bottom” when it comes to jobs and wages. When private companies bid on contracts for mail delivery, they inevitably cut costs by replacing unionized well-paying jobs with non-unionized jobs at much lower pay rates. Deregulation threatens the jobs of UPCE/PSAC members and threatens the quality of mail delivery services across the country.
- Mail privacy and security could be threatened. Canada Post employs highly trained security personnel who work hard to make sure that no one tampers with the mail. But if mail delivery were to be contracted out to a series of companies, it would make it much more difficult to ensure the same security standards in several different workplaces. Also, if any of participating corporations were based in the United States, they would be subject to the terms of the USA Patriot Act, which gives the U.S. government access to private information contained in the mail.
For more information on the Canada Post Strategic Review, visit the website of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, www.cupw.ca.
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Date Modified : 2008/07/30
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