City hall braces for disruption in postal service as strikes begin
City of Calgary officials say they are working with an external courier service to maintain critical deliveries as Canada Post employees start rotating strikes.
The city announced Monday it has made arrangements to ensure the continuity of customer service and business operations during any disruption of postal service. It plans to work with the courier service to ensure deliveries of critical material to citizens and businesses go ahead.
The union representing 50,000 Canada Post employees has started rotating strikes in four cities across the country. The 24-hour strikes began just after midnight in Victoria, Edmonton and Windsor and around 1 a.m. in Halifax.
The job action began after negotiators failed to reach a new contract agreement before the union’s Monday strike deadline.
Calgary officials reminded residents they can access and pay for most services online, including applying for a business licence and paying a parking ticket. Payments for things including property and business taxes can be made at most banks, through online banking or in person at the Calgary Municipal Building. The province also has plans in place for any Canada Post labour disruption. Officials say Alberta has an agreement with Canada Post to ensure Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit and Alberta Child Benefit cheques are delivered in the event of a postal disruption. Payments are expected to be delivered within a few days of regular delivery.
Plans are also underway to ensure cheques are distributed for income support, AISH, Family Support for Children with Disabilities and Persons with Developmental Disabilities benefits. Recipients are being encouraged to arrange for direct deposit to avoid any payment delays. Child care, child and youth support program cheques will be available for pick up in most local offices, and an agreement is also in place to make sure benefit cheques for seniors programs are delivered.
Any driver’s licences and identification cards that are currently in progress will be held at the manufacturer’s site until mail disruption is over, the province said.
If needed, the expiry dates for interim driver’s licences will be extended during mail service disruption.