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At least 150 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers took part in picketing in Fredericton on Wednesday as the union continues to fight for a new contract with Canada Post.
George Nickerson, president of the Fredericton-Oromocto local chapter of the CUPW, said it was Fredericton's turn to participate in a series of rotating strikes in Moncton and Saint John.
George Nickerson, CUPW President of the Fredericton-Oromocto Local, said security concerns were a high priority for him on issues at the bargaining table. (Ed Hunter / CBC)
Canada Post employees in seven New Brunswick communities are on leave Wednesday morning. This is part of a CUPW rotating strike strategy, which has been without a contract for nearly a year.
Canada Post announced an overnight strike and affected communities and regions include:
- Fredericton
- Acadie Bathurst
- Campbellton
- Edmundston
- Miramichi
- St. Stephen
- Woodstock
This means that there will be no delivery service, mail or parcel pick up in these areas.
Nickerson said he believed the strike in these areas would only last one day but could last up to three days, as in Moncton.
The cities of Moncton and Saint John, the only two places not to be on the picket today, were on strike this weekend, Nickerson said. He said Saint John would send some people to Fredericton to show their support.
This is the second time in almost two weeks that Canada Post employees have gone on strike in New Brunswick. At the end of October, Saint John employees also participated in the rotating strike across Canada.
The strike has shut down Canada Post's operations in more than 100 communities across the country since October 22.
The union, which has more than 50,000 members across the country, advocates for increased job security, the end of forced overtime and better health and safety measures.
Nickerson said that the safety of postal workers was the most important thing for him when he was addressing issues at the bargaining table.
"We are injured," he said.
"It's a dangerous job we're doing here these days."
Canada Post said in a statement that it remained committed to the bargaining process.
"The company has made significant offers to CUPW, including increased wages, job security and better benefits, and has not asked for any concessions in return," the company said. of state in a statement.
CUPW begins strikes in Toronto and continues in parts of Ontario and Quebec. Canada Post continues to make every effort to minimize the impact, but customers can expect delays of several days for parcels and mail delivery: https://t.co/bxq6HNAfDJ
"We appreciate the relationship with the union and have been able to find some common ground on some issues."
Negotiations between the union and the government began in November 2017, and mediation negotiations began in January.
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