Clashes Reported in Canada Postal Strike

TORONTO — Postal workers clashed on picket lines across Canada on Friday after their union called a full national strike to protest government intervention in its 10-day-old dispute over postal franchising.

There were at least a dozen arrests, scuffles and several injuries as Canada Post Corp. tried to move non-union replacement workers through picket lines to keep the mail moving.

The union called all locals out on general strike after Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s Conservative government introduced back-to-work legislation in Parliament. The union is fighting Canada Post’s plan to cut costs by selling postal franchising to retail outlets.