New Mailboxes Graded "D" for Dangerous

May 12, 2015, OTTAWA /CNW/ - A disturbingly high number of safety concerns and personal injuries – some requiring medical treatment – are being reported by those who have lost their home delivery and been forced to transition to Canada Post's new mega-mailboxes.

Approximately one hundred thousand households lost home mail delivery in 2014. A poll conducted by Stratcom* found that around 1 out of every 5 (21.3%) of respondents reported experiencing an accident, such as a slip or fall, either at the mailbox or going to and from the mailbox. 8.5% of those accidents required medical attention.

"Our money-making post office needs to consider the consequences of its ill-advised plan," said Mike Palecek, National President of CUPW. "Clearly, there are already serious concerns and a surprising number of personal injuries, which warrant further investigation."

The most commonly expressed concerns are:

• Difficulty with access due to snow (61% are somewhat or very concerned)
• Litter (60% are somewhat or very concerned)
• Accidents such as slips and falls (59% are somewhat or very concerned)
• Difficulty with access due to frozen locks  (59% are somewhat or very concerned)

"Canada Post made almost 200 million last year," pointed out Palecek. "There is no real reason to force these dangerous and unnecessary mailboxes on Canadians."

*The poll surveyed 497 people in the 25 FSAs (first three letters of postal code) that lost home delivery in 2014. It was fielded online in English and French using a proprietary panel from February 20 to March 4, 2015. It used a convenience sampling technique and is therefore not fully representative of the population due to the unavailability of census demographic statistics at the FSA level. The largest possible sample size within the online research panel was implemented given the geographical constraints. 

SOURCE Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Related Links

http://www.cupw-sttp.org