Canada Post is considering closing a west Windsor post office and re-directing letters from the Walker Road plant.
The company says the post office at 3201 Sandwich Street is slated for possible closure as part of its efforts to remain financially viable.
Canada Post officials say mail volume has dropped by 25 per cent and with no government support and they have to make tough choices to stay in business.
“Canadians don't want to see the post office turning to the government for a bailout,” says Jon Hamilton, director of communications for Canada Post. “We're built to deliver a lot of mail and with less and less we need to make changes.”
A review of the area shows that customers would be well served with five other postal outlets within five kilometres of the Sandwich Street location, claims the corporation.
The plant at 4255 Walker Road will focus on processing parcels and direct marketing mail and handling some manual processing of Windsor area mail. Starting on Feb. 18, some mail, such as letters, will be sent to London, Ont., to be mechanically-sorted and processed for delivery.
There are about 140 employees working at the Windsor mail processing plant. Canada Post says no regular full-time or part-time workers will be laid off as a result of the changes. Some positions will be eliminated as employees retire, transfer or leave the company.
The union is not happy, but is protected. A new collective agreement signed this past December guarantees against layoffs.
“Windsor is becoming a second-class town as far as Canada Post is concerned,” says Jeff Carroll, president CUPW Local 630.
Canada Post is seeking input from customers over the next 30 days about the Sandwich location closure. Customers can visit canadapost.ca/retail or write a letter to Retail Feedback, 2701 Riverside Drive, suite N1020, Ottawa Ont., K1A 0B1.
