Canadians could see their mail service come to a halt again as the deadline looms for Canada Post and the union representing its 55,000 employees to reach a deal.
Both sides have two weeks to reach an agreement by May 22, or face the prospect of a work stoppage through a strike or lockout for the second time in less than six months.
Employees went on strike for 32 days in November and December last year, disrupting the nation’s postal service ahead of the busy holiday season.
A renewed strike or lockout “would be absolutely deadly,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “To add this to the tariff fight just seems cruel and unusual for small business owners.”
Last year’s strike ended when then-Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon ordered postal workers back to work and both sides to the bargaining table under a special government mediator.
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) were back at the bargaining table this week and last with a mediator ahead of the approaching strike deadline.
In an emailed statement to the Star, a Canada Post spokesperson said they would not share specific details on the state of the talks at the request of the mediator, but that Canada Post was committed to the bargaining process.
鈥淲hile our top priority remains reaching new collective agreements at the table that will help us serve the changing needs of Canadians while providing good jobs,”聽the spokesperson continued, “we鈥檙e preparing for a number of potential outcomes, including the possibility of a labour disruption on or after May 22.鈥澛
In a statement of its own from last week, CUPW said the two sides agreed to discuss topics that had already been partially agreed upon “with the aim of finalizing them as a way to restart and reinvigorate the discussions.”
“We did not address the issues where significant differences remain this week,” Jan Simpson, CUPW national president, added in the statement.
This is the first time Canada Post and CUPW were at the bargaining table since early March when talks broke down聽both sides accused the other of digging in their heels.
At issue in mediations are disagreements over wages and a push by Canada Post to expand delivery to weekends. CUPW聽has also put forward proposals with changes to the group benefits plans and protections against technological changes that Canada Post has said would “create more rigidity in our delivery model, add significant costs, and accelerate the company鈥檚 declining financial position.”
Kwantlen Polytechnic University business instructor Ulrich Paschen says the union has lost some leverage now that the peak holiday season has passed.
Experts also note that Canada Post鈥檚 dire financial situation means it may struggle to meet workers halfway on their contract demands.
The Crown corporation has seen dwindling revenue and fewer deliveries made over the past several years.
Kelly noted that “a number of retailers” told him during the strike last year that they were no longer going to rely on Canada Post for mail services and had turned to alternatives.
The company sounded the alarm around its financial situation at a public hearing before the federal Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) in January, just days after parting ways with its chief financial officer and receiving a $1 billion loan from the federal government.
Under the labour ministry鈥檚 order, the IIC, led by mediator William Kaplan, has until May 15 to probe potential ways to reach a new contract between Canada Post and its union.
The inquiry鈥檚 recommendations are not binding, meaning either Canada Post or CUPW could reject the suggestions and trigger a restart of the strike.
In it’s statement, CUPW said it presented its position to the IIC and hoped “the Commissioner’s recommendations will reflect what we said.”
Happening simultaneously聽is a legal challenge issued by CUPW, alleging the ministry鈥檚 pause of the strike violated union members鈥 constitutional right to strike.
This legal fight is playing out before the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.
With files from The Canadian Press
More to come ...
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation