The federal government is set to announce “new measures” Thursday to help Canada Post deal with financial challenges and “advance its transformation,” amidst a long-running contract dispute between the struggling Crown corporation and its 53,000 workers.
Joel Lightbound, the federal minister for government transformation, public works and procurement, is set to announce details of the new measures Thursday afternoon in Ottawa.
A spokesperson for Canada Post said the Crown corporation doesn’t have any details on exactly what measures Lightbound will be announcing.
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“We will be following the minister’s announcement closely,” the spokesperson said.
In a memo posted on the union’s website Wednesday evening, the head of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said news of Lightbound’s announcement blindsided union officials.
“Although CUPW leadership met with Minister Lightbound last week, he gave no indication this announcement was coming. The Union does not have any details about what the Minister plans to announce,” said CUPW national president Jan Simpson.
Simpson also said Lightbound postponed another meeting with the union that had been scheduled for this week.
Canada Post had been expected to present the union with its latest contract offer Friday, something Simpson said would give the Crown corporation time to “stoke division” among union members over the weekend.
“Presenting the offers on Friday gives the Union no time to adequately respond to members before the weekend. 鈥 CPC will use this time to push its own message and agenda to stoke division in the Union. This is all part of their plan. Don鈥檛 be surprised,” Simpson said.
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Earlier this week, Simpson said the Crown corporation was trying to lay the groundwork for “massive” service cutbacks, including ending a moratorium on closing rural post offices, turning some post offices into privately-run franchises, ditching door-to-door delivery, and cutting the frequency of mail delivery.
“The Corporation has taken every chance it can to play up its financial condition, blaming an ‘outdated’ regulatory framework ‘built for a previous era,’” Simpson said in a memo late Monday.
Those four steps are聽all crucial to making Canada Post financially sustainable, the Crown corporation argued in its submission to an Industrial Inquiry Commission headed by veteran mediator William Kaplan earlier this year. In his May report, which found Canada Post is 鈥渆ffectively insolvent,鈥 Kaplan accepted many of the Crown corporation鈥檚 arguments.
In early August, CUPW members rejected the Crown corporation鈥檚 鈥final鈥 contract offer in a vote overseen by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after an order from federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu, who used her authority under Section 108.1 of the Canada Labour Code.
In its fiscal second quarter, Canada Post reported a second quarter loss of $407 million, amidst a large drop in parcel revenue.
Josh Rubin is a Toronto-based business reporter. Follow him on
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