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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, December 20, 2013 | 4 Canada Post workers' union protests job cuts by Michael Gregory Metroland West Media Canada Post workers delivered a clear message to Halton MP and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt Wednesday when they emptied bins of 12,000 postcards on the front counter of her constituency office in downtown Milton. The government employees, represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), are upset at a recent announcement that 8,000 job cuts and other changes will be made at Canada Post in a bid to make the mail service more profitable by 2019. Donald Lafleur, 4th national vice-president at CUPW , told 30 or so union workers outside Raitt's office Canada Post's closure of urban post offices needs to stop. "The post office used be on Main Street here in Milton and it's been moved to an industrial park way out of the way where nobody can get proper access to postal services," he said. Following Lafleur's call to action, the demonstrators flooded into Raitt's office to deliver thousands of postcards signed by Canadians across the country. The cards express opposition to any potential post office closings and encourage the federal government to innovate service. One staffer took notes as the union workers voiced their concerns, while others silently removed the cards and organized them on a desk. Representatives from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) demonstrated Wednesday at Halton MP and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt's Milton constituency office. They are upset over recently announced job cuts. | photo by Michael Gregory ­ Metroland West Media (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or www.facebook. com/HaltonPhotog) Raitt was in town attending meetings and wasn't available to meet with union representatives, her staff said. A Raitt spokesperson told the Oakville Beaver Raitt stands by a statement she made last week. "The Government of Canada supports Canada Post in its efforts to fulfill its mandate of operating on a self-sustaining financial basis in order to protect taxpayers, while modernizing its business and aligning postal services with the choices of Canadians," Raitt stated in a Dec. 11 press release. Outside the minister's office after delivering the postcards, Lafleur said the union's message is clear about wanting to improve services. "Talk to us, we've got ideas whether it's postal banking, generating more parcel delivery, generating money instead of cutbacks," he said. Gary Rabbets, a retired postal worker of 38 years from Aylmer, Ont., said he wants the government to keep its "hands off my pension." "If they go in and cut jobs, it's less people contributing to the pension," Rabbets said. "I'm here to protest that just as much as I'm here to stand up for the workers at Canada Post." Lafleur said the exact dollar hasn't been calculated for what 8,000 lost jobs might mean for pensioners, but it will be significant. "Somebody's got to pay into the pot if we're going to keep the pension plan going," said Lafleur. For others such as Leon Bouvier, who's been with Canada Post for 40 years, the prospect of retirement is still a ways off as he supports his family during tough economic times. Standing along Main Street holding a `Save Canada Post' sign, Bouvier said workers understand technology has changed their service but that shouldn't mean cutbacks. "The challenge is to grow the business, to make it more accessible, and more profitable for everybody," he said.