Saskatoon postal advocates brave the cold to recognize one year of government intervention

Postal workers and community allies gather at Saskatoon’s Vimy Memorial on Saturday, Dec. 20, to recognize one year since Canada Post workers were ordered back to work. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Despite the especially frigid temperatures in Saskatoon on Saturday, postal workers and community allies gathered for a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the federal government ordering postal workers back to work.

“This isn’t just postal workers. These are community members that believe in the public service, that believe in the service that the post office brings, and are fighting back against the idea that communities could completely lose their service altogether,” Brahm Enslin, the local president for Saskatoon Local CUPW 824 and campaign coordinator for the Hands Off My Post Office campaign, said.

In the year since postal workers were ordered back to work, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have been in negotiation.

While the two organizations have come to agreements in principle ahead of the busiest time of the year, the greater issue remains unsolved.

“I haven’t been at the board to see the negotiations, but it hasn’t been great. Obviously, we’ve been at odds the entire year... But I can say that the two sides have come to an agreement in principle, likely for that reason, to say, hey, it’s going to be business as usual throughout the holiday season,” Enslin said.

Those who stopped by the Vimy Memorial bandstand to show their support heard from local advocates who claim that there is a need for more movement within the negotiation process.

• Get the latest news from Saskatoon, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Enslin shared that he has a number of questions after waiting for a solution throughout the last 12 months.

“Where’s the contract? What’s going on? We’re not hearing a whole lot. And that’s been a big problem. We’re hearing a lot of it sometimes through the news, but we’re not hearing much in terms of movement. So that’s what’s on members’ minds... What’s taking so long?” Enslin said.

Enslin added that while he was worried the extreme cold would deter people from attending, he believes that the turnout amidst a minus-30-degree day (with the wind chill) speaks volumes.

“It says a lot. It’s an incredible amount of solidarity I didn’t expect to see much of at all anything today. So this is great. It’s incredible,” Enslin said.

As CUPW and Canada Post head into the second year of negotiations, many are feeling the fatigue that comes along with the uncertainty.

“It’s been extremely frustrating... That’s an understatement,” Enslin said.