Strike at Canada Post: the parties still “distant” after a mediation session

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have made some progress in negotiations with the special mediator appointed by Ottawa, but “there is still a lot of work” to be done on the main issues, as the national strike begins Tuesday, its fifth day.

On smaller issues we have been able to make some progresssaid Jon Hamilton, spokesperson for Canada Post. The special mediator helped facilitate these discussions. So we will continue to work. We are determined to conclude collective agreementshe said in a telephone interview, adding that arbitration was not on the table for the moment. There is still a lot of ground to cover.

While package deliveries and mail delivery are interrupted, the Crown corporation and the Postal Workers Union continue to negotiate two collective agreements: one for rural and suburban mail carriers, which has been discussed Monday, the other for urban postmen, which was on the table Tuesday.

The union said progress had been made in part thanks to the presence of the top federal mediator, appointed to the task last week. Peter Simpson, director general of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, spent the start of the week in an Ottawa hotel shuttling between the parties’ conference rooms, making proposals and arguments back and forth. potential concessions.

After 12 months of discussions, the employer has finally started to address pressing issues. Resolving these issues could pave the way to an agreement.

We will address other issues today (Tuesday) and members of the urban unit will then be able to see if there is any movement on their side.

About 55,000 employees represented by the Postal Workers Union walked off the job Friday, interrupting mail and package deliveries as the busy holiday season begins.

The union is demanding cumulative wage increases of 24% over four years, while Canada Post has proposed 11.5%. Other issues in dispute include job security, benefits and contract work delivering packages on weekends.

Great decline in mail

Negotiations between Canada Post and its unionized employees, which began in November 2023, are taking place as the federal delivery service faces an unprecedented financial crisis.

During the first half of 2024, Canada Post lost almost half a billion dollars. It reported losses of $3 billion since 2018 as Canadians sent fewer letters, while competitors took away even more share of the parcel market.

Households received an average of seven letters per week in 2006, but only two last year, according to Canada Post’s latest annual report, which called the trend great decline in mail.

Both the union and the crown corporation have proposed expanding service around parcels as a way to increase revenue, but they differ on how to go about it.

The union says full-time employees should deliver packages on weekends, while Canada Post hopes to hire contract workers.

What we need is a new, flexible delivery model that allows us to provide weekend parcel service and offer more competitive pricing than other services Canadians seek when shopping. online shopping.

According to last year’s annual report, the Postal Service’s package market share fell from 62% before the COVID-19 pandemic to 29% last year, as Amazon and other competitors took advantage of the growing demand for next day delivery.

Benefits

In addition to weekend work and wage increases to counter inflation, the union is demanding higher short-term disability benefits and ten days of paid sick leave per year. He also wants to include company vehicles for rural and suburban mail carriers, as well as paid meals and breaks.

Contrary to Canada Post’s proposals, our demands offer real solutions: fair wages, health and safety, the right to retire with dignity and the expansion of public post office services.declared chief negotiator François Senneville in a press release earlier this month.

Due to the sudden cessation of Canada Post deliveries (government benefit checks are among the rare exceptions), business has skyrocketed at other delivery companies.

We’ve seen volumes increase more than 10% week-over-week as we continue to meet the needs of Canadians during this busy timesays Purolator, majority owned by Canada Post.

FedEx has implemented a emergency plan to handle higher volumes, said spokesman James Anderson.

The last work stoppage at the Postal Service took place in late October 2018, when employees conducted rotating strikes for 31 days. Previous postal strikes, in 2011 and 2018, ended when the federal government passed special back-to-work legislation.