Freedom Flyer 11

Sir: The "No Scab Mail Here" cards delivered by the Letter Carriers' Union of Canada (LCUC) mention some valid criticisms of Canada Post, but completely fail to justify the union's position.

Canada Post has an obligation to deliver the mail and that obligation is not just to the receivers but also to the senders. After all, who paid for the stamp?

There's no question that Canada Post is an inefficient and unprofitable organization that could benefit by becoming more competitive, as the LCUC card points out. However, the union fails to acknowledge the significant role that it has played in that inefficiency by pricing its labour so high that it could not survive in a competitive environment.

The reduction of mail delivery, the introduction of community mail boxes, and the reduction of the number of carriers have not been suggested by Canada Post because it feels the public deserves less nor because it wants a confrontation. It is resorting to these alternatives because, in attempting to balance its budget, it must address those areas which are currently costing the most for the least return, namely, the high cost of labor.

The postal unions have priced themselves into their own predicament. The salt in the wound is that we, the taxpayers, are forced to subsidize their demands.

Why have the postal unions succeeded in raising the price of their members' labor beyond its worth? Why have things become this bad? It is because the post office has been and is being legally sheltered from the responsibilities and benefits of free-market competition. It simply doesn't have to be efficient to survive as any ordinary business does. Because it is illegal to compete with our postal monopoly, Canada Post has secured a huge section of the market without providing the service to earn it.

If members of the public are discontent with the mail service, I urge them to address the issue at its real source, by calling their MP and demanding an end to the postal monopoly.