Protesters took over the streets of Victoria Saturday to voice their opposition to the federal government legislating postal workers back to work under threat of heavy fines.

Mail service in Canada resumed Tuesday after the Senate passed back-to-work legislation ordering an end to weeks of rotating strikes by postal workers. If workers defy the legislation, they face significant fines.

B次元官网网址淎s president of this local, if I encouraged my members to defy the legislation it would be a $50,000 fine for me and a $1,000 fine for every individual that participated,B次元官网网址� said Jessica Dempster, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 850.

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Critics of the legislation say that it gives Canada Post management an unfair advantage and an opportunity to avoid having to bargain with its largest group of employees.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been in negotiation since November 2017 and the first offer we had from them was September of 2018. They put us in this position approaching Christmas and then turned around to the government and said youB次元官网网址檙e going to have to legislate them back,B次元官网网址� Dempster said.

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A sign held by the front marchers as they walked down the middle of Government Street and looped back on Douglas Street read, B次元官网网址淪top profiting from our injuries. 30,774 injuries in four years. 14,751 were disabling injuries.B次元官网网址�

Statistics Canada reveal that postal contractors have the highest Disabling Injury Incidence Rate and Disabling Injury Frequency Rate of all the federal jurisdiction industry sectors in 2015.

The Delivering Community Power coalition hosted the day of action to B次元官网网址渟upport the postal workers in our communities.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e are joining many people across the country who want to oppose this violation of our constitutional right to freely bargain and to strike if need be,B次元官网网址� said organizer Zev Roman.

Postal workers and supporters came from all over the Island B次元官网网址� Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni B次元官网网址� to join Victoria workers at the rally.