Canada Post Makes New Offer as Strike Deadline Nears
Canada Post has given a new set of offers to the union that represents postal workers. The company hopes to quickly reach a deal before a possible strike starts on Friday.
The Crown corporation said on Wednesday that it has made new proposals for both city and rural postal workers. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), which represents about 55,000 workers, said it will look at the new offers carefully.
This comes just days after the union gave notice that workers could go on strike soon. However, Canada Post has turned down the union’s request for two more weeks to review the proposals.
“We’ve already had two years of talks, a long strike, and a five-month break for a government review,” said Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu. “Everyone is looking for certainty now. More delays won’t help anyone.”
CTV News confirmed that CUPW had asked for two more weeks and that Canada Post said no.
In a separate statement, the union said it needs time to review the offers and added that Canada Post had left the bargaining table more than once.
“After all this waiting, we hope these offers truly respect workers and the communities we serve,” the union said.
Liu said Canada Post is open to talking again with the help of a mediator.
Canada Post’s new wage offer includes a 6% raise in the first year, followed by 3% in the second year, and 2% in both the third and fourth years. That adds up to a 13.59% raise over four years. The offer also includes six more personal days and better short-term disability benefits.
Canada Post said it has dropped plans to change retirement benefits, switch the health plan, or move new workers into a different pension plan.
One major issue has been the idea of hiring part-time workers to help deliver mail seven days a week. Canada Post now says these workers would get health and pension benefits and guaranteed hours.
They also want to try out “dynamic routing,” which would let them change delivery routes daily to save time and be more efficient.
The union said Canada Post walked away from talks last week. This happened before a government report came out about the future of the postal service. The report said Canada Post is facing a serious financial crisis and suggested big changes, like ending daily home delivery.
Canada Post has warned that if the strike starts again, mail delays are likely.
