Tanya Findlay, a Mississauga mail courier for 26 years, welcomes the overtime she’s been getting. Richmond hopes the company will hire more permanent staff and depend less on temporary help. We haven’t had sufficient staff many nights,” as many workers take leaves of absence as a way to avoid being exposed to COVID-19. Richmond said the jump in volume is not the only challenge, as the smaller staff deals with household items like mini-fridges, patio furniture and barbecues, many of which require two people to carry, which creates additional safety roadblocks at a time when physical distancing is mandated.Ĭanada Post says it still can’t keep up, even with help from thousands of temporary employees.Įven then, Richmond said “Our (temporary staff) list has been exhausted several times. “You could be looking at five or more days, depending on where it comes from.” “If you’re just ordering things online and regular service, not priority, then it’s going to take longer,” said Hamilton. Orders made online could be processed at various distribution centres, which could impact delivery dates, he said. Jon Hamilton, Canada Post spokesperson, said while some items sent via priority postage meet delivery dates others “may take an extra day or two.” Numbers are roughly three times the norm for this time of year. Parcel deliveries grew at a record pace from April to May - hitting an all-time, one-day record of 2.1 million parcels delivered May 19. “A lot of our members are working overtime, six days a week, to help us catch up,” he added. In simple terms: “We are backlogged,” said Richmond. “Because of the crisis there has been a lot of special leave for members who are at high-risk and single parents, so we’re having some challenges.” “We’re having higher than Christmas volumes right now with a reduced staff,” said Derek Richmond, who works at the York Distribution Centre in Scarborough. The postal service told customers this week to brace for delays into the forseeable future as demand and distribution centres that weren’t designed to keep people two metres apart clash. Canada Post workers are grappling with a record surge in bulky parcels at a time when reduced staffing due to physical distancing makes it impossible to meet delivery dates, even as online shoppers grow impatient for purchases to arrive.
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