Latest news with #postalservice
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Few Canadians support Canada Post privatization, but open to sweeping changes: survey
A new survey finds less support among Canadians for the privatization of Canada Post, but many are open to large-scale changes amid labour strife between the Crown corporation and its union. Survey results from the Angus Reid Institute, released Wednesday, found 59 per cent said they were opposed to the government selling off Canada Post. Meanwhile, 47 per cent of respondents said they were against privatizing some of the Crown corporation. The survey also found 64 per cent said it was important that the postal service continue to be publicly owned. Canadians were also open to sweeping changes in Canada Post's operations, with 72 per cent saying they would reduce mail delivery to three days a week. Additionally, 52 per cent said the Crown corporation should be able to use non-union gig workers for deliveries if it improves cost and quality of service. The results were derived from an online survey conducted earlier this month among Canadian adult members of the Angus Reid Forum. It comes as the Crown corporation and the union representing 55,000 mail workers are still struggling to hammer out a labour agreement. The federal government intervened last week to force unionized Canada Post workers to vote directly on the latest offers from the postal service, though no date has been set. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu announced on social media that she is using her powers under the Canada Labour Code to put Canada Post's latest offers to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers for a vote. This came after the union said it refused to meet halfway on arbitration as talks stalled. The union said the Crown corporation was unwilling to collaborate on drafting terms for an arbitrator to weigh and hand down a deal. Before that, Canada Post rejected a framework put forward by the union for a binding arbitration process, which Hajdu had requested the parties work toward days earlier. Canada Post and its union have been negotiating for about a year and a half regarding a new deal for workers as the Crown corporation's financial circumstances have worsened. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025. Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Most Canadians would support reducing mail delivery, new survey finds
Most Canadians support decreasing mail deliveries and other big changes to the way Canada Post operates, according to a new survey. 'With the future of the Crown corporation in question, Canadians are open to changes to its operations and are more willing to subsidize future losses than they are to want Canada Post to be privatized,' according to a press release by the non-profit pollster Angus Reid Institute on Wednesday. Seven in 10, or 72 per cent, of respondents support reducing mail delivery to three days a week, according to the data. The same percentage of Canadians surveyed say they endorse the idea of the postal service branching out into other services, such as banking and parcel lockers. More than half at 52 per cent believe Canada Post should be able to use non-union gig workers to deliver mail and parcels if it 'improves cost and service quality,' according to the pollster. The findings were released in the wake of a dispute between Canada Post and its unionized workers. The postal service and its employees have been trying to reach a new deal for the past year and a half while Canada Post's financial situation deteriorates, The Canadian Press reported. In addition, the Angus Reid Institute found that 59 per cent of Canadians surveyed opposed privatizing all of Canada Post, compared to 26 per cent who supported that potential move. When it comes to privatizing the Crown corporation in part, 47 per cent of respondents are against that option while 38 per cent support it. The Angus Reid Institute did a self-commissioned online survey from June 2 to 8 involving a random sample of 4,067 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes, it stated that the probability sample has a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Post delays in Cumbria lead to 'missed appointments'
Delays to postal deliveries, which some people say have caused them to miss medical appointments, "must be fixed", an MP has in Cumbria have taken to social media to complain about receiving notifications of appointments after they were due to attend, leading the MP for Penrith and Solway Markus Campbell-Savours to set up a meeting with Royal Mail Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the main causes were staff vacancies and postal workers being overloaded with mail which has to be returned to sorting Mail said: "We are working hard to ensure that all residents in Penrith and Solway receive their mail reliably and on time." Among the complaints on social media was one from a resident who "missed a medical appointment last week as the letter came this week".Another said a medical letter relating to their child took 20 days to arrive meaning "they then removed my child from the waiting list because they hadn't heard from me".Others shared late arriving birthday cards and claimed they were without a mobile phone for more than a week while waiting for a SIM card which had been posted first class. 'Bit of a disaster' Labour MP Campbell-Savours told BBC Radio Cumbria: "We need this issue fixed. People are very reliant on the mail service."If you're missing surgery dates and meetings with consultants and you're elderly and there aren't better ways to communicate, it's a bit of a disaster and I want to see it stopped."A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We are meeting with Mr Campbell-Savours to discuss concerns about deliveries in his constituency." Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron said he was also seeing problems in his area."This is not the postie's fault," Farron blamed decisions taken by senior Royal Mail managers leading to an unmanageable upcoming closure of the Sedburgh and Appleby sorting offices meant there was more pressure on Kendal and Penrith centres, he Cumbria and North Lancashire branch of the CWU said there were 10 vacancies at both the Penrith and Kendal sorting starters had also left the business due to the "extreme workload" and were on worse terms and conditions than existing staff, according to the union. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
Police search for suspect after U.S. Postal Service carrier shot in South LA
A U.S. Postal Service carrier was shot in the arm Monday in South Los Angeles, and police are searching for a suspect. Around 11:40 a.m., the carrier was allegedly shot in the area of Century Boulevard and Central Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim was conscious and breathing when taken to a hospital, an LAPD representative said. "The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Los Angeles Police Department responded after receiving reports of a letter carrier who was shot in the South Los Angeles area," Postal Inspector Patricia Mendoza said in a statement. "The Postal Inspection Service can confirm the postal employee was shot. This is an active investigation, and no additional information can be provided at this time."
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Last post for the letter as Royal Mail falls into foreign hands?
Prepare to say a long farewell to the birthday card, the thank-you note and the love letter. The get-well card is set for a terminal decline. Letter-writing has been a dwindling art for some time, but the takeover of the Royal Mail by Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky looks set to accelerate its demise. Home deliveries of letters are already ending in Denmark and being slashed in other countries in Europe as postal service owners seek to cut costs. Observers say Kretinsky will follow suit in the UK. Its fate was sealed earlier this month when Royal Mail's parent, International Distribution Services (IDS), de-listed from the London stock market. It marked the end of an era for Royal Mail, which was founded in 1516 under the reign of Henry VIII, and has now fallen into foreign hands following the £3.6 billion takeover bid from Kretinsky's EP Group. Investors in IDS who accepted Kretinsky's offer for their shares received their cheques in the post – but that could soon become a thing of the past. In Denmark, Royal Mail's equivalent, PostNord, will stop delivering letters to people's homes after 400 years at the end of December. Danes will be forced to rely on costly private companies instead. PostNord cited the impact of email and other electronic message systems on letter and card writing in its decision. Danish post boxes, which like Britain's are easily recognisable with their crown motif and striking red colour, will begin to disappear from streets this month. France is cutting back on letter deliveries too. State-owned La Poste sparked outrage earlier this year when it began to remove some of its 120,000 post boxes. Germany's Deutsche Post, owned by logistics giant DHL, in March revealed plans to slash 8,000 jobs, blaming it on dwindling letter volumes. In the UK, letter deliveries direct to people's homes began in 1661 when the first postmaster general was appointed by King Charles II. Today, under a set of rules known as the universal service obligation (USO), Royal Mail is required to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week. But Royal Mail has said repeatedly that its letters business is costing it hundreds of millions of pounds a year. It has raised stamp prices by record levels despite outrage from customers. Under plans being considered by the postal regulator Ofcom, set to be finalised this summer, these obligations are being watered down. The Government will retain a golden share in Royal Mail following the Kretinsky takeover. Any changes to its ownership, tax residency or where its headquarters is will need Ministers' approval. Royal Mail is also under a legal obligation to have at least one post box within half a mile of 98 per cent of the UK population. Even so, there are fears that service will be eroded, causing huge detriment to communities. Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, said: 'Daily delivery days for rural areas are for many a lifeline. 'Cutting these back would be a 'death spiral' for the valued, door-to-door, universal service and a slippery slope to losing the post service altogether,' he said. Alarm is growing among business groups that rely on the postal service to send their products to consumers. Amanda Fergusson, head of the Greeting Card Association, which represents about 500 businesses, said higher stamp prices are leading to even fewer letters and cards being sent. She said: '62 per cent of people are sending few letters precisely because of rising prices.' A Royal Mail spokesman said: 'We remain committed to offering choice, value and a reliable service for all our customers.' Letter volumes have fallen from 20 billion a year at their peak in 2004-5 to 6.7 billion in 2023-4. Fans of the UK's much-loved red post boxes, many of which sport quirky knitted toppers depicting topical scenes, hope they will not disappear with letter deliveries. Robert Cole of the Letter Box Study Group said: 'Many pillar boxes have openings big enough to take small parcels.' He added that Royal Mail had started adapting them for this purpose, also using GPS and barcodes. 2nd class to be even slower Royal Mail has been given a slap on the wrist by its watchdog over plans to slash deliveries from next month. The postal service told businesses it would cut second-class services to just three days a week from July 7. But Ofcom told Royal Mail boss Emma Gilthorpe that 'no decisions' on approval had been made, adding: 'Any reference by Royal Mail to specific dates is premature.' Royal Mail has been trying out reduced deliveries in 37 towns and cities since February, affecting a million households. It wants to cut targets for first and second-class mail after facing fines for missing goals. Currently, it must deliver letters six days a week to all 32 million UK addresses. It has been lobbying to change this for nearly five years saying it costs up to £2 million a day, and is no longer needed with fewer letters posted. Ofcom will make a decision this summer.
