Canada Post and its striking workers appear no closer to a deal as the Crown corporation’s shutdown drags on.
The strike, which began on Nov. 15, has resulted in chaos for some businesses and reportedly left some isolated communities without essentials such as medicine.
In a note sent to the media this morning, Canada Post said the latest offer to settle from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is “unaffordable and unsustainable.”
The company said agreeing to the workers’ terms would cost more than $3 billion over four years “at a time when the postal service is already recording large financial losses.” Canada Post has lost more than $3 billion since 2018.
In its own note published yesterday, CUPW said its most recent proposal “addressed many issues” Canada Post had raised.
It added: “[CUPW’s] intention is to help the parties come to negotiated agreements. CUPW wants nothing more than for its members to have good collective agreements, with their rights protected.”
CUPW provided few details about its offer, but Canada Post said today the union’s demands would “further reinforce the status quo” at a time when the corporation “must transform to meet the changing needs of Canadians and businesses.”
It said CUPW had proposed wage increases of 19 per cent over four years, compared with Canada Post’s offer of 11.5 per cent over the same period.
CUPW's proposed increase is “well beyond” what Canada Post can afford, the company said, and “far from where we need to be” to reach an agreement.
The postal service also claimed CUPW had demanded 10 medical days a year on top of the seven personal days already in the collective agreement, 13 multi-use personal days a year and the conversion of contract staff such as cleaners into permanent employees.
“To better serve customers and align with their evolving needs, we need a delivery model that allows us to deliver seven days a week and more quickly adapt to the growing ecommerce market,” the note reads.
Calls have been growing for Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon to force the disputing parties into binding arbitration, but the federal government has so far preferred negotiations to continue without intervention.
To read NowMedia’s interview with Canada Post’s spokesman on the day the strike began, click here.
To read NowMedia’s story on the strike earlier this week, click here.
