There could be a disruption to postal service next week if a labour agreement is not reached between Canada Post and its unionized workers.
Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) published the results of a strike vote on Oct. 25.
The Urban Operations Unit and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers Unit voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action, if needed, to achieve their bargaining goals.
“In our recent strike votes, members were asked whether they supported authorizing the CUPW National Executive Board to initiate strike activities if necessary to secure our demands, prevent employer rollbacks, and improve public services,” said national president Jan Simpson.
Negotiations with Canada Post have been ongoing since last November. Labour issues surround compensation, the increased use of part-time labour, route ownership, and a number of issues relating to working conditions.
On Oct. 29, Canada Post presented new offers to the CUPW for both the Urban and RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) bargaining units.
“We’ve presented enhanced offers that demonstrate we’re serious about reaching negotiated agreements without a labour disruption. In a best effort to reach agreements, these modified global offers propose higher wage increases for CUPW-represented employees, while continuing to protect and enhance what’s most important to them,” said Canada Post.
“A labour disruption would have significant consequences for the businesses we serve and the millions of Canadians who rely on Canada Post, while deepening the company’s already serious financial situation.”
Canada Post and CUPW are currently negotiating in a 21-day cooling-off period that ends on Nov. 2. After this date, either party would be in a legal position to initiate a labour disruption (following a minimum notice of 72 hours). This timeline under the Canada Labour Code means no labour disruption can occur before Nov. 3.
CUPW said Wednesday that the offer falls short.
“From our initial review of the new offer, it’s evident that Canada Post is focused on pushing many of their issues to binding arbitration. This approach would delay the finalization of a complete collective agreement and redirect funds toward lawyers and arbitrators rather than investing directly in you,” said Simpson.
“These offers contain some of the same language as the previous Global Offers, including the attack on our pension plan, inferior benefits for future employees, more part-time jobs and fewer full-time opportunities, as well as huge changes to the way letter carriers work, are scheduled, and are entitled to overtime. Canada Post has not removed its Separate Sort and Delivery (SSD) model, leaving no solutions for many overburdened workers.
“Canada Post has raised the wage offer by 1.5 per cent in 2024 to a compounded 11.97 per cent over four years, which is far from what we are demanding and deserve.
“Canada Post states, “both parties must urgently focus their energies on resolving outstanding issues to reach negotiated agreements.” Union negotiators have been at the table for close to a year doing just that, but Canada Post continues to push for massive rollbacks that won’t help the Corporation, and that the Union can never accept. Canada Post is asking to gut the collective agreements and for us to trust them to do the right thing.”