Just over a day before 55,000 Canada Post employees could be back on the picket line, the Crown corporation is expected to present its workers Wednesday with a contract offer aimed at avoiding another strike.
The offer is expected to be presented to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers at a meeting in Ottawa with a mediator.
There was no immediate word on the details of the offer. Union negotiator Jim Gallant said in some broadcast interviews earlier this week that CUPW would like to take two weeks to look at any new offer.
Earlier this week, CUPW gave Canada Post 72 hours’ strike notice, and workers could be back on the picket line as of 12:01 a.m. Friday.
Last week, the union slammed a report from veteran mediator William Kaplan.
Kaplan’s report said Canada Post was effectively insolvent, and suggested the use of community mailboxes, the elimination of home delivery except for parcels, and getting rid of some post office locations and replacing them with franchises.
Kaplan also suggested expanding parcel delivery to seven days a week, with the use of part-time employees.
Kaplan was also pessimistic about the prospect of a negotiated settlement between the two sides, and added that binding arbitration was also not likely to provide a lasting solution.
