More than 55,000 CUPW members have been on strike since November fifteenth. Demands include higher wages, higher advantages, more job security and more. Since the strike began, Canada Post has not processed or delivered mail or packages, causing continued disruption to the general public and businesses through the busy holiday season.
There is a silver lining for Canadians waiting for his or her mail: certain government checks will proceed to come back through. As announced in November, Canada Post and CUPW will proceed to accomplish that deliver socioeconomic checks through the work stoppage for eligible and participating government organizations.
“As part of the agreement, CUPW has committed to providing enough volunteers to write the checks,” Jon Hamilton, vice chairman of strategic communications and stakeholder engagement at Canada Post, tells MoneyDown. “Participating federal government programs include Canada Child Benefit (CCB), Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Provincial checks for December include checks from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia. The socio-economic checks for the month of December will be issued on December 18th and 19th.”
You could have noticed that some Canada Post post offices and retail stores are open but not accepting mail or packages (apart from returns). The employees there usually are not members of CUPW – they’re belong to other unions or are employed by a franchise company.
Service Canada issues CPP and OAS checks early
Anticipating delays attributable to the postal strike, Service Canada began issuing pension checks sooner than usual in November.
The federal government can be encouraging Canadians to establish a web-based account My Service Canada Account. You can use this account to have your advantages transferred on to your checking account. The account also allows users to access services related to Social Security Numbers (SINs), the Canada Dental Care Plan (CDCP), government pensions and more.
If you owe money or have to pay a tax installment to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you possibly can avoid interest and penalties by making payments electronically, either through online banking or a one-time payment via CRA Online Services.
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Which government checks is not going to be delivered through the strike?
Unfortunately, other government checks and cards is not going to be issued through the work stoppage, including passports, driver’s licenses, health cards, and federal and provincial tax refunds and rebates. Accordingly, employment insurance (EI) checks will only be issued to people who find themselves in “urgent need.” Employment and Social Development Canada.
