Canada Post: imminent decision by the Canada Industrial Relations Board

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) participated in Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) hearings this weekend to determine whether the two parties are truly at an impasse.

The hearings took place in Ottawa on Saturday and Sunday, a Canada Post spokesperson said.

The office of the Minister of Labor announced on Sunday that a decision of the CCRI is expected Monday or Tuesday, but he stressed that the verdict does not depend on the government.

While the conflict has lasted a month, the Crown corporation says it will inform Canadians as quickly as possible about the resumption of its activities.

Mail could start being delivered across the country again early next week, after the federal government pushed Friday to end the work stoppage at Canada Post.

Canada Post activities still suspended

As long as the process is ongoing, there is no change to the situation and our activities remain suspendedsaid Canada Post in a press release.

From the beginning, our goal has been to conclude with the STTP negotiated agreements that would help us better meet the evolving needs of Canadians and provide good jobs for the people who provide the service. We remain committed to doing so through this new process while meeting the postal needs of Canadiansadded the state-owned company.

Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon asked the CCRI to order the 55,000 employees who set up strike pickets to return to work in the coming days if the court determines that an agreement is not possible before the end of the year.

The minister’s directive would also extend the contract between Canada Post and its employees until the end of May.

The Crown corporation declined to specify whether it had told the board of directors at the weekend that the two parties were indeed at a dead end after negotiating in good faith. This situation would likely result in the return of postal trucks in the coming days.

A federally appointed mediator withdrew two weeks ago, saying the two sides were too far apart to reach an agreement.

A union rally planned for Monday

The STTP will hold a rally outside Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s Toronto office Monday morning, the Toronto and York Region Labor Council announced.

This organization considers that Mr. MacKinnon’s intervention constitutes a violation massive of workers’ rights, thus echoing the denunciation of the decision taken by the union last week.

In response to a government that has clearly shown its willingness to intervene on behalf of the employer, Canada Post Corporation has refused to negotiate fairly or in good faiththe Council said in a statement on Sunday.

Ottawa used section 107 of the Labor Code to formulate its directive Friday after using the same powers to intervene earlier this year in disputes at the country’s railway companies and ports, ordering the CCRI to order a return to work and impose binding arbitration.

MacKinnon called the move a creative solution by avoiding taking the matter directly to mandatory arbitration, as the government had done in previous standoffs.

We are asking for a time out. Positions seem to have hardened. It has become clear to me that we are at a total impassehe said in Ottawa on Friday.

Business groups had asked the government to intervene as companies and individuals struggled to find other means of delivery for the end-of-year holidays, which are in full swing.

The union did not respond to requests for comment.