Negotiations resume at Canada Post, according to the union

The special mediator suspended mediation on Wednesday (new window) between the employer and the Postal Workers UnionSTTP because the parties remain too far apart on crucial issuesexplained the federal Minister of Labor, Steven MacKinnon.

It ultimately lasted less than 24 hours.

As for the 55,000 postal workers on strike, several of whom are demonstrating this Thursday in front of Canada Post headquarters, we say we are optimistic. Yannick Scott, national director of the CUPW metropolitan Montreal region, even hopes to reach an agreement before the end of the holiday season.

In an interview with -, Mr. Scott indicates, however, that much remains to be done.

He is careful not to comment on the course of the negotiations, but affirms that they are stumbling in particular on the question of flexibility.

They want to change the delivery system that allows them to provide service seven days a week with much more precarious jobs, temporary employees with completely different conditions. [de celles des autres].

He also says he is worried about the future of the company. We know that Canada Post is a public service, which has a legal obligation to deliver to all addresses in the country, which is not the case for the competition.

The latest conflicts at Canada Post ended with the intervention of an arbitrator who imposed working conditions.

There have been no real negotiations at Canada Post for ten years. Last time, in 2018, it ended with a special law […] and it was ultimately an arbitrator in 2020 who set the working conditions.

Mr. Ranger recalls that when arbitration is imposed, it never solves the underlying problems. The files set aside during these arbitrations accumulate and rise to the surface, affirms Yannick Scott.

Last Monday, the federal Minister of Labor, Steven MacKinnon, admitted that the negotiations were difficult (new window) and that he did not foresee a rapid end to the strike.