By Anja Karadeglija
A new poll suggests Canadians are supportive of government intervention in the labour disputes at ports and at Canada Post.
Polling firm Leger found 63 per cent of respondents to a new survey were in favour of the Liberal government’s move to step in and ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order a resumption of port operations and move negotiations into binding arbitration. Nineteen per cent were opposed, and another 19 per cent said they didn’t know.
Just over half of respondents, 57 per cent, said they would be in favour of the government doing the same in the ongoing Canada Post strike. Twenty-one per cent were opposed, and 22 per cent said they didn’t know.
About 55,000 employees represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have been on strike since Friday, shutting down operations and halting deliveries. The federal government has appointed its top mediator to help reach a new agreement.
On Friday, Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon ruled out early intervention in that strike.
Earlier in the week, MacKinnon intervened to end the dispute at Canada’s ports. Port workers in B.C. and Montreal were locked out, freezing cargo container movements from two of the country’s busiest ports.
Leger polled 1,529 people from Nov. 15 to 17. The poll does not have a margin of error because online polls aren’t considered truly random samples.
Fifty-one per cent of respondents said port operations should be classified as essential services and not allowed to stop, while 32 per cent said port workers should be allowed to strike to improve working conditions.
The unions representing the Montreal and B.C. port workers have pledged to challenge the minister’s intervention in court.
Canadians were more familiar with the strike at Canada Post than the lockout at the ports, with 86 per cent saying they had heard that postal workers could walk off the job, compared to 67 per cent who were familiar with the port dispute.
Sixty-one per cent of those who took the poll said they were worried about potential disruptions to their mail service due to a postal strike, and 57 per cent said they were concerned about possible delays over the holiday season.
Around the same number, 56 per cent, said they were supportive of the demands being made by Canada Post workers, while 29 per cent were opposed.
The union is asking for a cumulative wage hike of 24 per cent over four years, while Canada Post has offered an 11.5 per cent increase. Other issues include job security, benefits and contract work for parcel delivery on weekends.
