Cochranites can check their mailboxes again as our rural and suburban mail carriers (RSMC) are back to work.

Angela Sellwood, Union Rep for Cochrane learned via text that as of 4 pm yesterday afternoon (November 22), the strike was off for Calgary local carriers. While workers in our area will be back to work nothing has been settled nationally as of yet.

Although they are headed back to work, Sellwood states their top areas of concern have not been addressed. "Our biggest issues are working for free as we don't get overtime pay, overburdening, and injuries. As an RSMC there is no time value for us for parcel delivery."

Sellwood states that although RSMC workers were awarded pay equity to match letter carriers they haven't seen anything come out of it. "We haven't gotten it yet and we don't know where it's at. We get no overtime still."

As workers have seen a dramatic increase in the number of parcels requiring delivery, Sellwood shares workers want to do a good job but physically can't get all their deliveries done in time. "With no collective agreement we aren't allowed to do over 8 hours and so stuff is just being left."

RSMCs became part of the union back in 2004 but to date are still struggling with many unaddressed concerns including the alarming rise in injury rates. "Something needs to change. I just got back from carpal tunnel surgery on both my hands, there are so many injuries. We have had few people who haven't dealt with plantar fasciitis and that is just Cochrane, the injury rate is just unreal."

Hoping an agreement can be settled on through collective bargaining, Sellwood says if the government legislates them back to work nothing gets addressed or settled.  "Even though it's a legal strike that will take away our right to collective bargain."

The impact of the strike has affected more than just the fourteen Cochrane RSMCs, three permanent,  and couple on-call relief employees, inside workers, have also been impacted, says Sellwood. "The other bargaining unit CPAA they had nothing to do. There is no mail or parcels for them to sort so it affects them as well and there may be a dozen of them."

Sellwood shares Cochrane workers have been well supported through the strike and while backlash may have been heard in other locales, she has heard no negative comments. "Hopefully it's resolved soon."

Rural and suburban mail carriers are required to be able to lift parcels up to 50lbs and within 2 metres of measurement, depending on the route this could vary between 100 to 200 parcels a day climbing to over 300 during the holiday season. "It's unfathomable when you see what's there. A couple of Christmas' ago I filled my vehicle seven times, I was getting home at 9 o'clock at night and leaving home at 7 in the morning. It's a hard job."

Canada Post sent out the following comment in relation as to where things are at as they move into their busiest season. "Canada Post remains at the table to find the common ground needed to reach a fair and reasonable settlement with the union. We continue to operate in an attempt to minimize further service impacts on the many people who depend on us, especially at this time of year."

Although there was talk that Canada Union of Postal Workers 50,000 members (in two groups) would be legislated back to work, as of yesterday the legislation was tabled in the House of Commons.