Canada Post’s whopping $407 million second quarter loss reported Tuesday is unlikely to jump-start stalled contract negotiations between the Crown corporation and its 53,000 workers, labour experts say.
Canada Post reported plummeting parcel delivery revenue, dropping by $288 million, as they shipped 25 million fewer packages in Q2 compared to a year earlier as customers sought more reliable options.
“Parcels results declined sharply as the strike activity and labour uncertainty drove customers to other carriers,” the Crown corporation said in a press release.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers, in an emailed statement, said the loss was further proof that the Crown corporation needs new revenue streams, some of which the union has suggested during contract talks.
“Canada Post’s second quarter financial report,” CUPW said, “makes one thing clear: The Corporation must focus on growing revenue, instead of blaming its workers.”
The union pointed to a recent stamp price increase as something which could make a difference.
“The recent stamp price hike is already making a difference,” CUPW added. “Mail revenues increased by $153 million, or 28.4 per cent compared to the same quarter last year, proving that Canada Post could have avoided years of financial hardship had it acted sooner.”
The union also laid blame for the labour dispute at the feet of the Crown corporation as well as the federal government, saying that both have kept negotiations from progressing.
It also took a shot at veteran mediator William Kaplan, whose Industrial Inquiry Commission found that Canada Post is effectively insolvent.
“Canada Post and the Government have stalled negotiations for more than eight months following a Section 107 order, a biased Industrial Inquiry Commission, and a forced vote. The uncertainty they created is now being used as an excuse for further losses.”
The massive loss is unlikely to kick-start stalled negotiations, said Larry Tufts, a labour studies professor at York University.
“The reality of this has been known to both sides for a long time,” said Tufts. “The only thing that’s really going to change the positions is when one side starts taking action. A full strike by the union, rather than just an overtime ban, or arbitrary layoffs by management.”
While the Crown corporation would have preferred a $400 million profit to a $400 million loss, management won’t exactly be crying in its beer over the scale of the loss, argued labour studies professor Rafael Gomez.
“If you’re going to lose, lose big,” said Gomez, director of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.
The loss, he said, will help Canada Post make its case for change to the federal government, which would need to pass legislation to rewrite Canada Post’s official charter to cut down on Monday to Friday delivery.
Contract negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have dragged on for more than 18 months and led to a month-long strike late last year.
CUPW said management negotiators have cancelled two scheduled meetings over the last few days. In a written statement, Canada Post said it was still reviewing CUPW’s counter-offer to Canada Post’s “final” contract offer.
“We are carefully reviewing CUPW’s comprehensive offers and over the past few days have requested additional details about a number of items in the proposals,” said Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu. “We remain committed to the collective bargaining process and reaching agreements with CUPW.”
Earlier this month, CUPW members rejected the Crown corporation’s “final” contract offer in a vote overseen by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after an order from federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu, who used her authority under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.
Canada Post has argued it needs a dramatic restructuring of its operations, an argument supported by a key report from Kaplan in May.
In his report, Kaplan said the Crown corporation was effectively insolvent.
Kaplan also said that there’s an impasse in bargaining, suggested arbitration wouldn’t be a good choice to deal with Canada Post’s need for restructuring, and said a “final” offer would be the third option for an end to the dispute.
Kaplan’s May 15 report 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 and temporary employees.
CUPW members have been in a legal strike position since May 23, but their strike action has so far been limited to a ban on overtime work.
