Ottawa, Nov 16 (IANS): Canada Post said its operations will shut down during a national strike, which will affect millions of Canadians and businesses across the country.

Customers will experience delays due to the strike activity. Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike, and some post offices will be closed, Canada Post said in a statement on Friday, adding that service guarantees will be impacted for items already in the postal network and that no new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over.

Items will be delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume, said Canada Post, all mail and parcels in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis once operations resume, reports Xinhua news agency.

"However, a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends," said Canada Post.

Shutting down facilities across the country will affect Canada Post's entire national network. Processing and delivery may take some time to fully return to normal, the company added.

Some 55,000 postal workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) went on a nationwide strike on Friday right after midnight.

The union said that after a year of bargaining with little progress, postal workers made the difficult decision to strike.

Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day, said the CUPW.

"A strike is a last resort," the CUPW said.

The demands listed by the CUPW are fair wages, safe working conditions, the right to retire with dignity, and the expansion of services at the public post office.

Negotiated collective agreements could be achieved but Canada Post must be willing to resolve the new and outstanding issues, the CUPW added.