Mediator Assigned to Help End Canada Post Strike
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are back at the bargaining table with a government-appointed mediator today as the national postal strike enters its fourth day.
Both sides have said they are committed to forging an agreement with the help of Peter Simpson, the director general of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services.
Approximately 55,000 workers walked off the job just after midnight on Nov. 15, causing mail delivery to grind to a halt across the country. The walkout comes 72 hours after the union issued strike notice to Canada Post, the Crown agency that employs its workers.
Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu told The Epoch Times the postal agency supports the appointment of Simpson to help with negotiations despite the parties remaining “far apart at the table.”
“We remain committed to reaching new agreements at the bargaining table, and not through arbitration,” Liu said in an emailed statement.
CUPW said it also plans to work with the mediators to reach negotiated collective agreements for both urban and rural postal workers.
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“CUPW’s goal is to negotiate collective agreements,” a union spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The best collective agreements are those negotiated at the bargaining table.”
Though Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon appointed Simpson as a special mediator to help expedite negotiations between the two parties, the minister has been vague about Ottawa’s plans to legislate postal employees back to work.
The Epoch Times contacted the minister’s office for comment on the likelihood of such legislation being implemented, but did not receive a direct answer.
“Our special mediator has joined the negotiations today in order to help the parties reach a deal,” senior communications advisor Matthieu Perrotin wrote in an email response.
“Canadians are counting on the parties to reach a deal. Negotiated agreements are always the best way forward.”
MacKinnon said at a Nov. 15 press conference that he would not look “at any other solution other than negotiation right now.”
“Every day is a new day in collective bargaining and we are going to support the parties in any way we can and try to get a negotiated agreement,” he said.
While Ottawa seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach to the current postal strike, it has enacted back-to-work legislation in the past.
The Liberal government enacted Bill C-89 during the 2018 postal strike, forcing the postal workers to return to work after a month of rotating strikes that cost Canada Post an estimated $135 million.
Canada Post is at a “critical juncture,” Liu said, losing more than $3 billion since 2018 with losses continuing to mount. Threats of a strike last week resulted in a 42 percent decline in parcel volumes compared to the same week the previous year, Liu noted.
“With no new parcel volumes in the system over the four days of the national strike, this situation will only worsen,” she said.
Negotiations
Canada Post has offered “competitive wage increases” of 11.5 percent over four years, and additional paid leave, while also protecting the defined benefit pension and job security provisions, Liu said.
The corporation has also put forward proposals to offer seven-day-a-week parcel delivery, more competitive pricing and “other important improvements, to help secure the future of the company and grow our parcel business,” she said.
“This new delivery model is essential for the future of the company, and critical to our ability to afford the offers,” Liu added.
CUPW is requesting wages that align with inflation and is fighting against cuts to pensions and health benefits, the union spokesperson said.
“CUPW is also resisting Canada Post’s plans to further gigify Canada Post’s workforce—which will result in a second-class workforce,” the spokesperson said. “CUPW also wants to see a real commitment to expand services to strengthen our public post office and turn it into the world class public service people across this country deserve.”
Services and Delivery
Canada Post is not accepting any new items until the conclusion of the strike, but mail and parcels already in the postal network will be delivered in the order they were received as soon as operations are restored, Liu said.
The one exception to that rule is government-issued cheques. The two sides agreed last week that cheques for this month will be delivered on Nov. 20.
“The national strike will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends,” Liu said. “Processing and delivery will be challenged going forward due to the impacts of the strike.”
