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Laurence

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To all those who have relative's in Canada be aware of the Postal strike there , as it will effect Christmas mail

Information on

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/comm/list.page?ecid=murl|ddn|lr|5&ref=hlpn_2_2089672741942420928_2

I advise you use UPS or other private carrier

regards Laurence  -

 

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Its rotating strikes so not an all out strike. Mail is delayed but not stopped and will be delayed no matter what even if the strike ends tomorrow. If anyone is sending to a Canadian friend or relative I am sure they will understand. Fedex or UPS are good options but very expensive if its a substantial package. Your Canadian friends will understand if you still send it via Royal Mail / Canada Post.

I think it is likely that there will be back to work legislation in place very soon. As they are deemed an service essential to business, the economy, and rural communities, the government can force the strikers back to work with an Act of parliament. The bill has already passed the House of Commons but still has to go through the Senate (House of Lords equivalent). They delayed the vote on Friday until today and assuming it passes and is signed in the next couple of days the workers will be forced to comply the day after it is signed. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-canada-post-legislation-strike-1.4919485

The rights or wrongs of that process is an entirely different debate, and one that will no doubt rage on after the workers are forced back, but when the trigger is pulled on something like this it usually ends up leaving no-one happy. An independent arbiter is put in place and both sides basically have to suck up whatever the arbitration decision is.   

 

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Our family is affected as well and mail is getting through but very slowly. My wife was angry because she had been thinking  that the 2 orders from Thailand that she had made were not going to be delivered at all and there could be no trust in the Thai shippers. But  the next few days passed and  there it was , the postal van at the curb and the postie wanting a signature on a receipt.

The strike has been delayed until Christmas for obvious reasons I suppose, but I really don't know what the issues are although I don't think the mail servers are  poorly paid. However , it's  a job I would not like to do. Only parcels that require receipts are delivered to the door by Postal Van delivery here in Western Canada. All other mail and small parcels are deposited into each customer's  little street mail box slot set into a large metal postal stand which the client has a separate key to enter. Works fine and gives the client the option of getting at the mail when it's convenient.

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3 hours ago, Scarlet Pimple said:

I really don't know what the issues are although I don't think the mail servers are  poorly paid. 

Its mainly Health and Safety issues around the increased workload of parcel deliveries due to online shopping. One of my pals works for Canada Post and sent me this link : https://rankandfile.ca/what-postal-workers-are-fighting-for/?fbclid=IwAR24BQAjcZ2VTHuGECD4aGHRrAorufltcQqWqMJdtqiQh5tjq3sAC_P3fG8

 

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After reading the above I was a bit flummoxed and wondered how to react. If the postal workers don't want the Government to control  them then who will?

Since you and I, Scotty, i.e.  the public, have no choice or input as to what the  Government  actually does with the taxes gleaned from us then  how do we know which side has the best and most fair arguments? They seem to want extensive changes and rewards for their labour, yet do they understand that when self-employed ,as I was for 29 years, I had to work all kinds of hours to build the business and work even harder to retain the good clients that I attracted. There was no winter allowance, no  pension upon retirement, no feather bed and no reward if I fell ill and had to take  a few days off. etc. Oh,  and no money coming in if I dared to take an annual holiday.  But I loved the independence and meeting so many interesting people from all walks of life over years of hard work and looking back I would not have swapped it for the world.

Whether  the postal workers like it or not the Government HAS to control it. The cost of a stamp has soared over the recent years and  when I look at modern stamps I can't see the cost displayed on them any more so I can't tell if  I am using the correct postage to send a letter to  Great Britain or not. So I just go into my drawer to  find a stamp, cross my fingers and that's it. The problem with email is that so many older people in Scotland don't have email or are Twitter-ers  and so on. So I use the slightly more expensive telephone now much more often. When I receive a letter from the U K it used to take 3 days to have it delivered, Now it's about 13 days.--so much for that, eh? Shank's pony could swim faster across the channel than that. Do you have Mr. Shank's number by any chance...…?

 

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I sell a lot of books to Canada I am on Amazon CA  , I recently put my books there on inactive.  I am still selling on Amazon com  and Abe  and bible . Orders at the moment for Canada I have been advised by Royal Mail not to send them

My customers seem happy  for me to hold them until the situation clears up

I do free post on Amazon , one of the reasons I am not too happy to use a private carrier

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16 hours ago, Scarlet Pimple said:

Whether  the postal workers like it or not the Government HAS to control it. The cost of a stamp has soared over the recent years and  when I look at modern stamps I can't see the cost displayed on them any more so I can't tell if  I am using the correct postage to send a letter to  Great Britain or not. So I just go into my drawer to  find a stamp, cross my fingers and that's it. 

I don't think the issue or argument is about control, its more about being asked to do much more for the same or less money and reduced benefits. Its a situation many find themselves in, especially in the public sector. The wage increases are minimal, definitely less than inflation, the employer keeps chipping away at the benefits package, removing or adjusting limits and levels, and yet on the other end the workload increases as the employer looks to "right-size" the organisation. (oh how I detest that particular phrase!). 

Canada Post was on its knees just a few years ago as no-one was sending letters any more, confidence in online shopping was at a low point, and its parcel service was largely irrelevant as it did not compete well with Fedex, Purolator, and UPS. They seem to have recovered well thanks in part to Amazon and the explosion in online ordering, even if they are not delivering many of the Amazon packages ... apparently the letter delivery service has also grown exponentially more recently as the preferred way to get legal marijuana is in the post !! 

I am lucky, I have a good employer who pays well and treats its staff well. My benefits package is comprehensive and even now as I prepare to go on short term disability for my surgery and post operative recovery, my HR department has reached out to me to explain the process, to note that i will be on 100% wages for up to 17 weeks and to tell me not to worry about anything, just to get better. Contrast that with the public sector where every action, every sick day, every injury, or every health claim is viewed with suspicion, and each time the employers and unions come to the table to discuss the CBA for the next few years they are miles apart, usually on agreed increments and benefits. I do sympathise with the employers a bit, as there are always a few who will find a way to game the system and get what they are not entitled to ... but the vast majority are hard working folk who need those benefits to be there when they most need them ! 

 

16 hours ago, Scarlet Pimple said:

I use the slightly more expensive telephone now much more often. When I receive a letter from the U K it used to take 3 days to have it delivered, Now it's about 13 days.--so much for that, eh?

We send/receive from the UK in anything from 3-5 days usually (not including Christmas time). Letter post is not too bad but parcel post is ridiculous cost. We stopped sending anything too heavy to UK as the last time we went to do it, which was for a book of photos of Toronto as it happens, the postage cost was going to be well over $100 .... ended up sending it surface mail for about $26 but it took 6 weeks !  Postage from UK to Canada doesnt seem quite so harsh, but fair play to you Laurence for doing free post ! 

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Hi Scotty , Hope you are  on the mend

I had a message from Royal Mail to say I can now ship to Canada . I had an email from a lady in British Columbia to say she had a mail truck outside her house and there was no problem.

With regards to  "free post" , with Amazon it seems to be a sacred cow. If you don't use free post it   defaults into the local rate. I got into Amazon.ca  more or less had too,  as Amazon com now have a north American package which is good value

It includes Mexico  ( which I pulled out of )  because the postal service there is very slow and I had to refund customers before I got bad feedback

I specialise in Scottish books which the people in North America and Australia  seem to like.  Royal Mail charge me under my bulk selling contract  the same for anywhere in the world outside the EU and it runs between £4 and £7  according to weight.

It gets very busy at this time of the year I often ship between 20 and thirty books in a day. Finding time to get to games is often difficult. I also play Contract bridge, and walking football  ( they don't walk )

Hope all is OK with you ! My company in Canada - Is -  books of Garten  -  

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