Postal strike blackens Friday

Black Friday will be a little blacker this week for online shoppers in Nelson.

The nation’s postal service workers are still on strike in Nelson and across the country as the busy Black Friday online shopping week is here.

Now in day 12 of the strike, CUPW’s national strike — which also affects Nelson and other regional post offices — continues despite talks between Canada Post and its union workers taking place over the weekend, albeit with limited progress, the service reported.

“We are down nearly 10 million parcels since the strike began, which will only increase as the strike continues and people look elsewhere to have their items delivered,” a media release from Canada Post noted on Monday morning.

The company said in a statement that it is trying to move forward with changes to its delivery model that would provide weekend delivery and more flexible staffing during the week.

“Canada Post’s proposals to offer seven-day-a-week parcel delivery and other important improvements are crucial to the company’s future, as it would allow us to grow our parcel business,” the statement read.

The union counters with other issues, including hiring the people who work for contracted facility cleaning services and making them full-time.