Talks Between Canada Post and Union Expected to Continue as Overtime Ban Stays
Canada Post and its workers’ union are expected to continue talks in the next few days. This comes after both sides met on Sunday to discuss ongoing issues, including delays in mail delivery caused by a nationwide ban on overtime for postal workers.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said in a statement that its team carefully reviewed Canada Post’s latest offers and shared their responses during the Sunday meeting with the employer and mediators.
Union president Jan Simpson said that at 12:50 p.m. ET, Canada Post left the meeting to go over the documents. She added that it may take a few days for the company to respond.
“We hope Canada Post gets back to us soon,” Simpson said. “Although the talks are still going, the national overtime ban remains in place.”
Canada Post confirmed it received the union’s responses and said it will carefully review them.
Last Wednesday, Canada Post made its latest offer, which included a pay raise and a plan to hire more part-time workers. The union asked for a two-week break, or “truce,” to study the offer, but Canada Post said no.
Sunday’s meeting was the first of the weekend, and a mediator was present to help both sides reach a deal. The two groups have been stuck in negotiations for months, trying to agree on a new contract.
Earlier, CUPW criticized Canada Post for not agreeing to the truce. The union said this left very little time to review the 700-page offer.
“If these talks are unstable, it’s because Canada Post refuses to compromise and didn’t give us enough time,” CUPW said.
The last agreement between the two expired on Thursday. It had been extended by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after the federal government stepped in during a strike late last year.
While CUPW gave a 72-hour strike notice earlier in the week, they did not walk off the job. Instead, they called for a nationwide ban on working overtime while reviewing the latest offer.
Last week, the union told its members that the latest deal from Canada Post doesn’t meet their expectations on wages and other important issues.
Canada Post said its offers are based on its current financial situation. A recent government report said Canada Post is nearly “bankrupt” and suggested big changes to help fix the service. These included stopping daily home mail delivery and changing mail routes every day based on need.
