Nov 19, 2018
Pressure builds for Canada Post resolution as holiday season looms
Cindy Baldassi has been selling handmade jewelry online for over a decade through her own website and a number of online storefronts.
Based in Calgary, Baldassi said she typically ships orders three days a week, but during the holiday rush – beginning at the end of November – she begins shipping daily, and sometimes twice a day. However, the rotating Canada Post strikes have been affecting Baldassi’s main source of income and she fears an even bigger financial fallout if the contract dispute isn’t resolved soon.
“My sales to Canada are down since the rotating strikes started, likely due to customers being afraid of a full strike or lockout delaying their package for weeks,” Baldassi, 52, said in an email interview with BNN Bloomberg.
“The tracked packages I have shipped within Canada are mostly arriving within one day of the expected delivery times, however, and my customers have been very understanding so far – thank goodness,” she said. “I am also lucky that I do not sell many time-sensitive items, or products with expiry dates such as food.”
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents more than 50,000 Canada Post employees, began 24-hour rotating strikes in various communities across the country last month, which has led to historic delivery delays. On Wednesday, Canada Post issued a "time-limited" contract offer to its employees in hopes of ending the strikes ahead of the holiday season.
The offer, which expired Nov. 17, came shortly after online sales giant eBay called on the federal government to legislate an end to the contract dispute. The union rejected the offer Saturday and issued a request for Ottawa to appoint a meditator in the contract talks.
Canada Post called for a cooling off period on Monday in a last-ditch effort to deliver the holidays, proposing to the union that the two parties work together through January that would immediately end rotating strikes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed in on the dispute Saturday, urging both sides to resolve their differences.
Labour Minister Patty Hajdu told BNN Bloomberg earlier in the week that the government will step in if necessary to reduce the burden on those affected.
“Canadians and small businesses rely on Canada Post, especially at this time of year,” a spokesperson for Hajdu said in an emailed statement. “We respect and have faith in the collective bargaining process and urge both parties to reach a fair deal.”
“If the parties are unable to achieve a negotiated deal very soon, we will use all options to find a solution to reduce the impacts to Canadians, businesses, Canada Post and their workers.”
A ‘critical time of year’
The urgency to resolve the dispute comes as retailers become increasingly anxious about getting deliveries out during the holiday rush when many small businesses make a large chunk of their revenue.
“The uncertainty surrounding the Canada Post strikes presents a real challenge for small businesses, especially at this critical time of year when many are planning their sales for Christmas as well as Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” said Monique Moreau, vice-president of national affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, in a statement to BNN Bloomberg.
“Even small businesses that don’t sell to consumers often still rely on cheques to pay each other, which they send by mail as well.”
Baldassi said she depends on the revenue from her online business as she suffers from a neuromuscular disability, which limits her ability to work a traditional job. She not only sends more than 1,500 shipments through Canada Post each year, but also relies on the service for almost all of her jewelry-making supplies.
The relevance of Canada Post, a Crown corporation, has come under intense scrutiny during the strikes and as competition heats up in the e-commerce delivery space.
Ian Lee, an associate professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, has been critical of Canada Post for failing to adapt in the digital age. He told BNN Bloomberg in a recent television interview Canada Post must adapt to a “collapsing” mail volume if it wants to stay relevant.
“The e-commerce deliverers –and I’m talking Canada Post – have to be much more lean and nimble and dynamic, than the old days of delivering letters,” he said.
“The last thing that you want to do is send these customers away,” Lee added. “That’s why I’m very critical of these strikes. It may be sending a message to Canada Post, but it’s simultaneously sending a very negative message to the Amazons of the world and the Walmarts who are getting very aggressively into e-commerce.”
Baldassi said that while options are improving for e-commerce businesses in major urban centres, merchants in less populated areas don’t have affordable alternatives.
“For small business owners who ship small items, or who live in remote areas, Canada Post is crucial for e-commerce success,” Baldassi said.
Until the contact dispute is resolved, Baldassi recommends businesses keep up strong communication with customers about potential delays and look into alternate solutions.
“Research your other options, including driving across the border to mail in the U.S. if you live close enough, and setting up car pool or courier arrangements with other local e-commerce merchants to reach alternative shipping services,” she said.
If the strike situation persists or worsens, Baldassi said she plans to use DYK, a cross-border shipper based in Calgary, to help with her orders going south of the border.
“But my Canadian sales will drop to almost nothing, as there is no affordable alternative here for small packages,” she said. “It would mean a dramatic drop in sales during the busiest season of the year, when I usually make about 30 per cent of my gross income.”
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