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The Editor,
Re: My View, Richard Mahoney, December 4; “Canada Post is still relevant. Who knew?”
Your recent editorial relating to Canada Post and the Union of Postal Workers is timely and detailed in defining the reality of the current state of affairs. Both CP and the Union have yet to adjust their cultures, structures and operations to a more contemporary commercial model. A few reflections:
Canada Post is an “Enterprise Crown Corporation.” This means it is mandated to deliver a public service while self-financing the majority of its operating costs. There are also “Not for Profit Crown Corporations” whose expenses are fully paid for out of public funds. CP now carries a debt load of $1billion and a $500 million payment due in July 2025. Major changes in consumer behaviour, technology and private sector innovation have eroded its core business of paper mail and made it difficult to compete in a highly competitive parcel sector. Managing a large business is a complex and serious responsibility. It is understandable that CP is struggling to adjust quickly while it has a responsibility to deliver to every Canadian address 5 days a week, and to provide a service office in every city, town and village, add to this the daily management of over 55,000 employees and a massive logistics infrastructure.
CP needs to adopt a creative change mentality. This means assessing, designing, planning and testing new opportunities to achieve a sustainable and relevant future. I assume that Senior Management has already begun work on a journey of renewal. It will be evolution rather than revolution which will require visionary and creative leadership, courage and tenacity. It also needs a labour workforce that is mature enough to become a partner in a shared future of collective success. CUPW needs to remind itself that it is a part of a public trust of service and not a private sector player where it needs to fight daily to protect itself from the excesses of corporate greed. No one is getting rich at CP.
It may not be wise for CUPW to put its employer to the wall while it staggers into the 10th round of a fight for its survival. It may not be wise for them to try to force a 1960 retrofit militancy into the current reality. It may mitigate against the value of its involvement in the collective journey to a renewed Canada Post.
Additionally, it must get past the fallacy that security exists in a pay rise however appropriate a raise may be. True job security exists in working for an enterprise which is successful, sustainable and adaptable to change.
Canada Post has and continues to be a great trusted steward of a critical and valued service since its founding as Royal Mail Canada in 1867. We all own it; it is our business. It deserves public support and shareholder support as it works through a demanding process of renewal. It has the management, technology, infrastructure and related assets to succeed. I believe it will become even more relevant in the future as it becomes a case study in defending the public interest against the corporate sector intrusions to monetize public services. Who would have thought?
Bill Bradford, Maxville
