Canada Post Strike To Hurt Small Businesses

With Canada Post initiating a strike late last week, it is sure to cause quite the inconvenience for people all over the country. Many may think that not receiving your mail on time is not as big a problem as it once was, as so many people are used to communicating with each other over the internet, nowadays.

However, receiving bills in the mail may lead some to posting their payments for their credit cards late! You may just want to make sure that doesn’t happen, regardless if the bill comes on time or not. We’re pretty sure that most companies will not see the Canada Post strike as a legitimate reason to not have your payments in on time.

Speaking of businesses, this strike is bound to have a major impact on them as well. Says to QMI Agency’s Sharon Singleton in an article published on The Toronto Sun‘s website last Friday, this is especially true for Canada’s small to medium-sized businesses. Also known as the group of people who make up our amazing clients, these entrepreneurs are in line to lose upwards of $250 a day!

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, many small companies still heavily rely on Canada Post services despite the increased use of email and other courier services that are more prevalent today. In fact, the Canada Post strike is bound to cause a major disruption to small business practices if it is prolonged.

Said Dan Kelly, the senior vice president of legislative affairs at the CFIB: “Compared with postal strikes in the past, the cumulative effect will be less serious as there are now alternatives. However there are still many sectors of the economy and many different types of firms that will be hit.”

Online retailers are prime examples of businesses that will be severely impacted by the postal strike. Consider that their items are to be shipped to consumers. Undelivered packages, of course, are bad for business. In addition, many of these companies also still use standard mail services to send invoices and receive payments by cheque.

As Singleton informs us, “Canada Post workers walked out in Winnipeg late Thursday after unions and management failed to reach agreement over working conditions.” Unfortunately, there is no word on just how long this strike is expected to last. As a result, there is also no telling just how negative the impact will be on small to medium-sized businesses throughout Canada.