"I think it was last week, we had to tell Canada Post that we cannot take any more packages because we are so backlogged --same with FedEx and Purolator. We had to just say no because we have our own packages and everything else."
Michael Dumba is a UPS delivery driver in Estevan. He has been delivering packages throughout the last few weeks, as 55,000 Canada Post employees nationwide went on strike. After the federal government ordered the workers to go back to work Tuesday morning, he passed along a key piece of advice.
"Patience. We need to be patient. We have to be patient with Canada Post."
According to a press release from the Crown corporation, Canada Post will be working through the mail and parcels trapped in the system since November 15. New mail will not be accepted until Thursday, December 19. The corporation warns of significant delays for the rest of the year and into 2025. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is looking to challenge the federal government's back-to-work order. Previous collective bargaining agreements have been extended until May, as deliberations between the company and its union continue.
Throughout the mail stoppage, other courier companies like FedEx, UPS and Purolator had to pick up the slack. At their regional distribution hub in Regina, Dumba said they were backlogged with parcels. He added that in the UPS head office in Toronto, 10 trailers sat dormant due to the strike action.
"Since Canada Post has been on strike, we've been working overtime [and] on weekends. There's days that we would come in at 6:30 in the morning until we can't see numbers on houses anymore. And you look at us now -- we are so exhausted. We are so tired. Like I said, we are still backlogged and it's going to take us a long time to catch up."
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While we don't have concrete numbers, Dumba estimated that a significant portion of the packages he's delivering are going to businesses. He noted that significant delays will continue due to less staff. "If people could just watch us unload our trucks and see the mess that we have to deal with on an everyday basis. We have anxiety when we start unloading these trucks. We only have...so many people working here out of Estevan. We don't have enough people to catch up. The majority of these packages are [for] businesses. Some of them are for, you know, just houses in general. But, I've noticed now our packages have grown 20 times more than I've seen in the last four years when."
Community support has been mixed as the strike wore on, with consumers voicing their worries on social media about not receiving packages before Christmas. Dumba himself isn't immune to the backlog as a customer. He revealed that he has a package currently stuck in Winnipeg that was affected by the strike. In our first interview with Dumba at the start of the strike, he shared that he's not upset with the employees, but the situation that the strike caused. Dumba said he still feels the same way. "We're still standing behind you. Hopefully, your union and Canada Post comes to an agreement here before May. Hopefully, something comes out of this."
The postal stoppage started on November 15, when the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and its 55,000 workers nationwide walked out of Canada Post hubs and post offices. Negotiations halted when both sides could not find a resolution for both parties before the end of the year.