09) STOP THE PRIVATIZATION OF CANADA POST

By T.J. Petrowski, Winnipeg

     Canada Post was founded in 1867 and has since become a vital service to all Canadians, delivering 40 million items to 14 million addresses everyday, and employing over 70,000 full and part‑time employees.

     However, Canada Post is under threat from the Harper Government's attack on public sector workers and unions, with the Conservatives continuing the push for privatization.

     In the 1980s and the 1990s, 1500 public post offices were closed, the services offered being taken over by multinational corporations that do not serve the interests of Canadians, but private investors with anti‑worker policies. Now at least 16 closures in urban areas across Canada underway.

     The privatization of Canada Post would negatively impact Canadians in many ways. Since private postal outlets are only interested in making a profit, they are less reliable and do not provide the same services that a public postal service does, and unlike public services, are not accountable to Canadians. Rural mail delivery would be especially threatened by privatization, since it is not profitable for private corporations to deliver to remote areas.

     The workers at private postal outlets are often underpaid and overworked, as corporations exploit workers in an endless desire to force larger profits out from their workers. Workers are more likely to have less secure and part‑time employment, while many jobs will be eliminated entirely, exacerbating the rising income inequality in Canada.

     Countries that have privatized their postal service have experienced significant repercussions, with the workers and the general public forced to endure the burden. More than 16,000 well‑paid jobs were eliminated in Sweden between 1993 and 2005, with only a meager 2,000 jobs created as a result of the privatization. Additionally, postage rates for small business and the public increased dramatically as a result of the privatization of the national postal service. In New Zealand, postal workers suffered a major wage reduction as a result of privatization.

     According to polls by Ipsos Reid and The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 69% and 52% of respondents do not want a privatized postal service in Canada. The two major concerns of the respondents were the environmental consequences of a private postal service and the risk to their privacy.

     Canadians don't want to see their post offices closed and replaced by private corporations. Canada needs a reliable public postal service that is accountable to the public. Stand up to the privatization of vital public services!

(The above article is from the December 1-31, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)