The union representing about 55,000 striking postal workers said it is “disappointed and frustrated” with Canada Post’s proposals as the labour disruption drags into its fourth week.
However, in a statement Sunday afternoon, the Crown corporation told the Star that it has yet to receive a formal response from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) through the federally-appointed mediator after its latest proposal on Friday.
“We continue to operate within a confidential process, which was agreed to by Canada Post and CUPW,” Canada Post wrote in a statement. “While we strongly disagree with the responses the union has shared publicly, we encourage CUPW to share their positions through the formal process.”
In an email to the star, CUPW argued it “respects” the bargaining process and said that its representatives met with the mediator Saturday afternoon to discuss the proposals, which they argue contain “drastic changes and rollbacks that no union in the world would ever accept.”
“We urge Canada Post to bring forward proposals that reflect the value of its workforce,” the union said. “While no counterproposal has been made yet, CUPW negotiators remain committed to working toward a fair deal and are ready to return to the table.”
Details of the proposals exchanged between the two sides during the mediation process have not been shared publicly.
The Crown corporation said its remains committed to getting people “back to work.”
“Our proposals include significant moves to close the gap on key issues like weekend delivery, pensions and wages to reach new agreements,” a Canada Post spokesperson said.
The strike began on Nov. 15 and will hit the four-week mark this Friday. In the last three weeks, most mail and parcels have not been processed or delivered, except for some government cheques and documents.
Both parties have been informally communicating via the meditator to find a solution, but have not been back to the official bargaining table since talks were suspended last week.
As the strike continues, especially amid a crucial holiday period for many small businesses and customers, pressure has been building for the federal government to step in. But in a statement on Saturday, Ottawa signalled it’s not planning to intervene and force the postal employees back to work through binding arbitration.
“We urge the parties to get back to the negotiating table,” Matthieu Perrotin, press secretary to Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, stated in an email to the Star Saturday morning. “Parties must do the work necessary to reach a deal, as Canadians are counting on them.
“Negotiated agreements are always the best way forward,” he wrote.
CUPW president Jan Simpson told the Star in an interview Saturday that the government not intervening is a “good thing.” The union had called for a cumulative wage hike of 24 per cent over four years, while the company previously countered with wage increases totalling 11.5 per cent over four years and additional paid leave, while protecting the defined benefit pension and job security provisions.
“The proposals that they put forward are not adequate. This strike highlights there’s so many unresolved systemic issues. And it’s not an overreach of the unions to try to fix these,” Simpson said.
With files from Josh Rubin and Diana Zlomislic
