While ‘neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night’ is supposed to affect postal service, some Penetanguishene residents might be wondering how this applies to warm, sunny May days.
Their frustrations are growing these days as they have issues getting their mail or finding the mailbox empty for days at a time due to staffing issues.
They say the post office, which is located just off Main Street, has been locked at times during its posted business hours, leading to issues accessing their mailboxes.
“People are upset because they can’t get their mail,” Karen Chaplin explained.
“We can’t access the post office. If this is how they’re going to start operating, that’s pretty bad.”
Another resident says that when she called a couple of weeks ago to find out what was going on, the woman who answered the phone told her they were “short-staffed because the gal they hired is off taking French classes.
“When I asked why the need for French classes, she said you have to be bilingual to work here,” Jenn Gendron says.
“This is ridiculous. They refuse to hire you if you aren't bilingual, but they're closed because the person they hired…wasn't bilingual.”
Chaplin says that if the job calls for bilingualism as a prerequisite, Canada Post shouldn’t hire unilingual residents in the first place.
As well, she says hiring someone who can speak both French and English shouldn’t be that difficult in a town like Penetanguishene.
“The whole community is like 75 per cent French here,” Chaplin says. “This is a unionized federal organization so it sets a precedent here and it should not be happening, especially when there are people looking for jobs like crazy. It sets a dangerous precedent."
While the mailboxes can apparently be accessed outside of normal business hours, residents are required to pay for a key to take advantage of that service.
After being contacted by Village Media, Canada Post said Thursday staff from another post office has been brought in to address staffing shortage at Penetanguishene’s main Canada Post branch.
“The Penetanguishene post office has unfortunately been experiencing unanticipated staffing issues due to personal leave and training, which has resulted in irregular hours and closures for short periods,” Canada Post spokeswoman Lisa Liu said.
“We sincerely regret the interruption in postal services at this location. Notices were posted on the door to advise customers as such.”
Liu said that effective immediately, the post office will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 am to 4:15 pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am to 5:15 pm. The post office’s regular hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Monday to Friday.
