Local business hurting over Canada Post labour dispute

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No matter what happens in the coming days of the Canada Post disputes the damage is already done for some online companies. The looming lockout meant items weren’t shipped and left customers cancelling orders. As Kate Carnegie reports, it has already cost one Hamilton company thousands of dollars in losses.

Staff are busy packaging orders at Bra Makers Supply in Hamilton. The problem is they aren’t all being shipped. With the threat of a lockout some customers aren’t willing to risk their item being stuck in transit and aren’t willing to pay extra to guarantee delivery.

The store relies heavily on online orders from all over the world and has always used Canada Post as the preferred method of shipment. However, during the last post strike five years ago, the company lost thousands of dollars in revenue. For now it will be business as usual come Monday and it’s time to play catch up.

Overall, courier companies are seeing an increase in volume as a result of the possible work stoppage at canada post. Purolator posted a message on it’s web site stating that it can’t guarantee on time delivery and FedEx posted that due to an influx of volume some services have been temporarily suspended. UPS has taken it one step further saying it is prepared with contingency plans to serve additional volume and the company hired 300 new staff across the country to keep up with demand.

Canada post and the Union have been in discussions since late 2015 yet remain far apart on key issues like putting an end to the two-tiered pay structure.