Should there be disruptions to Canada’s postal system due to planned strike action at Canada Post commencing this weekend, UPS Canada has announced that it has made contingency plans to take on additional parcels through its UPS Access Point Network.

Canada Post has said that there could be disruptions to service from Saturday 2nd July if the postal operator’s ongoing contract negotiations with the unions are not successful.

UPS said in a statement on Tuesday that, “If you are a business owner, an enterprise, an online shopper or planning for a special occasion, you will want to have a backup plan for your shipping needs starting  July 2, 2016. Reports of a potential labour dispute at Canada Post could impact shipping.

“With almost 900 locations across Canada, businesses and consumers alike have a convenient and simple solution to pickup and drop off pre-labeled UPS shipments at a rate that offers in province, next day delivery, comparable to the published Xpresspost rate in many areas.”
Christoph Atz, president, UPS Canada, added: “UPS Access Point locations are situated in convenient places with evening and weekend hours to fit the busy Canadian lifestyle.

“We are ready for additional volume, and the UPS Access Point Network is robust and prepared to serve Canadians.”

With open competition where strike action takes place this is a golden opportunity for a company’s rivals. This seems to be an astute move by UPS against its national operator rival, and one that could win it business. The only difficulty being that should UPS have industrial action the flow of business could go the other way at a later date.