Key Takeaways:
- A mail carrier reports that her out-of-pocket costs for delivering mail along her rural route have doubled due to the steep rise in gas prices and the growing cost of life for many Canadians.
- Canada Post’s rural and suburban postal carriers are not provided with a red and white corporate truck or a gas card like their urban counterparts.
- According to Beale, Tim Horton’s gift cards are only one of the many things Canada Post may provide its employees.
A mail carrier claims that the sharp increase in gas prices and the rising cost of living for many Canadians has caused her out-of-pocket expenses for delivering items along her rural route to double.
Jennifer Henson, a Calgary mother of two boys and one of the 11,000 rural and suburban mail carriers delivering letters for Canada Post across the nation, stated, “The tension is draining.”
“It goes beyond gas. Living expenses have increased, according to Henson. “Like any working-class Canadian across the nation, I’m constantly worrying about how to pay this expense and that bill.”
The 38-year-old claimed that filling the tank on her Ford Flex used to cost her $60.
I now pay $125 to fill my tank every 2 days, which is a 100% increase.
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Canada Post’s rural and suburban postal carriers do not receive a red and white company truck or a gas card like their urban counterparts. Therefore, in addition to using a personal vehicle with a minimum 1,415-liter cargo capacity, rural carriers are also responsible for paying for their vehicle’s gas, maintenance, and insurance.
I travel more than 200 kilometers each day. We change our brakes, oil, and tyres far more frequently than the ordinary individual,” Henson added.
She said the Canadian Revenue Agency assisted the Crown corporation in giving her a $720 biweekly allowance to cover those expenses, but she claimed it wasn’t sufficient.
“I don’t want to criticize Canada Post because most carriers, whether they work in big or rural areas, say they enjoy what they do. My path is great. The outdoors is soothing. I’ve met some incredible people,” said Henson, a 16-year carrier.
But Canada Post has also raised its fuel surcharge, so when you visit the post office to mail something, you will now be paying extra as a consumer due to the fuel cost. We are not at all benefiting from that.
Additionally, she said that this year, the CRA increased carriers’ allowance by five cents per liter, but that “a few cents wasn’t doing a lot when petrol was nearly $1 less last year.”
According to Statistics Canada, the annual inflation rate exploded to its highest level in almost 40 years in May, driven by skyrocketing petrol costs.
According to the government, the consumer price index increased 7.7% in May from last year. Since January 1983, this growth has been the biggest.
Food costs for almost everything in a supermarket cart increased by 9.7% compared to the previous year.
Henson claimed that the cost of groceries has also hampered her financial situation.
“My youngest son will turn 12 next month, and my oldest son is 14. She said they eat more than most of my friends and are growing.
“It blows my mind when you go to the grocery store. How are folks making it?
According to Anna Beale, president of the Calgary Local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Canada Post needs to enhance the allowance for its rural workers.
According to Beale, Tim Horton’s gift cards are just one example of the many items Canada Post can give its employees. Why not use that money to help rural drivers make ends meet to pay these gas prices?
A Canada Post representative stated in an email that the mail carrier is adjusting to rising costs across several businesses.
Phil Legault says, “Fuel costs are in uncharted territory and have influenced the entire sector.”
He said that rural and suburban mail workers are entitled to a cost-of-living payment to cover any unexpected or unforeseen costs.
Legault stated, “This is reviewed throughout the year and paid out by the collective agreements.
We will contact the Canadian Union of Postal Workers about this problem because they have asked that we talk about it.
Any increase in inflation, as well as the price of gas and diesel, according to a vice president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, as well as the carriers, hurts rural Canadians the most.
Because we must drive everywhere because we don’t have access to public transportation, Keith Currie remarked that we pay disproportionately higher for petrol.
