CashNews.co
The union representing Canada Post workers said it will be in a legal strike position on Friday, as the Crown corporation warns that a potential strike will further impact its already dire financial situation.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said in a statement early Tuesday that its executive board was giving the required 72-hours notice for both its rural and urban mail carrier bargaining units.
The union said despite talks that began almost exactly a year ago on Nov. 15, 2023, “the parties remain far apart on many issues,” including wage increases, pensions and medical leave.
CUPW was in a legal strike position as of Nov. 3, after a legally mandated cooling-off period. In a vote last month, more than 95 per cent of both urban and rural workers backed a strike mandate, the union has said.
The union representing Canada Post workers said it will be in a legal strike position on Friday. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said that despite talks that began Nov. 15, 2023, ‘the parties remain far apart on many issues,’ including wage increases, pensions and medical leave.
But in the statement early Tuesday from CUPW president Jan Simpson, the union said it hasn’t decided if a job action will take place immediately, saying it “will depend on Canada Post’s actions at the bargaining table in the days to come.”
A spokesperson for Canada Post confirmed to CBC News that the company had issued a formal lockout notice to the union, adding that unless new agreements are reached, the current collective agreements will no longer apply as of Friday.
But they added the company has no intention of ceasing its operations. “Instead, the Corporation is using the means under this section of the Canada Labour Code to adjust operations based on its operational realities and business needs,” the spokesperson said.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon told CBC News on Tuesday that the government is offering “mediation support” in the talks.
“We are hoping to achieve a deal at the table. The issues at hand in the Canada Post negotiations are substantial. They’re significant,” the minister said.
“There’s a lot of work to do, and I know the parties are negotiating today. We will make every effort possible to keep them at the table and keep them talking, and we hope to achieve a negotiated settlement there.”
$3 billion in losses since 2018
Canada Post has said in recent strike-related statements that it’s at a “critical juncture” and that its “deteriorating financial situation could require the company to revisit its proposals.”
It warned that continued labour strife will adversely affect the company and have consequences for customers over the upcoming busy holiday period, especially in rural communities.
The threat of a labour disruption was already “rapidly impacting” its revenue, the company said last week, with retailers switching service providers in anticipation of a strike and the volume of mail and parcels “down significantly.”
The Crown corporation recently proposed annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over four years and has said it wants to negotiate “a more flexible and affordable delivery model” that would include parcel delivery seven days a week.
Canada Post said in a recent news release that it lost $490 million in the first half of 2024, part of a total $3 billion lost since 2018. Losses before tax for 2023 were $748 million, due to lower volumes of transaction mail, higher delivery costs and competition from a post-pandemic surge in parcel delivery services.
“These competitors grew rapidly, leaning on their low-cost-labour business models that rely on contracted drivers to provide lower prices, plus greater convenience with evening and weekend service,” the company said in its annual report from May.
The Crown corporation sold off parts of its business earlier this year, including its IT and logistics departments, to stay afloat. But experts have said that its efforts to sell and outsource its operations wouldn’t be enough to save the company.
Union urging company to expand services
CUPW is negotiating for fair wages, improved health and safety, and the right to retire with dignity, union president Jan Simpson told CBC News in an interview.
The union is asking for a 23 per cent raise over four years; Canada Post has offered 11 per cent over the same period.
“The whole society is falling behind because of inflation and postal workers are no different,” Simpson said. “Canada Post management is still getting their bonuses and many of our members are going to the food bank because [they’re] not making a living wage.”
Simpson added that the union also wants to see an expansion of services — including postal banking and senior check-ins — as a way out of Canada Post’s current financial predicament.
“Canada Post has to look at bringing in revenue, not trying to fix the financial situation they have on the back of the workers,” said Simpson.
Yet some experts who’ve spoken with CBC News have said that the Crown corporation, which has asked Ottawa to rethink its mandate, needs to focus on its core business of mail and parcel delivery.
Impasse over weekends, disability plan
Canada Post’s proposal to expand parcel delivery service to evenings and weekends — which it says will allow it to compete with other mail and parcel carriers — has been a point of contention during negotiations.
The company says that CUPW has been resistant or “has required serious constraints” on the flexible delivery proposal, which it says would negate any potential benefits of the change.
Craig Dyer, president of the St. John’s-based chapter of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, says workers are demanding a fair deal. At this point, workers could give a 72-hour strike notice or Canada Post could issue a 72-hour lockout notice.
The union says it wants to ensure that the company’s plans around flexible delivery won’t impact its workers’ regular, full-time weekday routes.
CUPW has also said that Canada Post has been unwilling to improve its short-term disability plan. The union is asking for 10 medical days and seven personal days to be included in its collective agreement.