Canada Post says it plans to present a new contract offer to 53,000 employees in an attempt to kick-start stalled negotiations, but labour experts say it’s unclear whether the move will actually bring the lengthy dispute closer to an end.
“Canada Post has informed the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) that it will be responding to the union’s recent offers with new global offers designed to move negotiations forward. This will allow the parties to return to the table next week,” Canada Post said in a press release Thursday.
The Crown corporation said it has also asked the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to deliver flyers that are already in the system. Monday, the union began a ban on delivering flyers, and dropped its previous ban on its members working overtime, which had been in place since May 23.
In a written statement, CUPW slammed the Crown corporation for “abandoning workers and the public” after the union’s most recent contract proposals, and said the new offers from Canada Post need to be a step up from what workers already voted down in August.
“After postal workers decisively rejected Canada Post’s last offers, the corporation refused to negotiate and instead demanded postal workers accept the same rollbacks they had just rejected,” the union said. “We hope these new offers reflect the needs of postal workers and protect, enhance and sustain the public postal service for all Canadians.”
The union also said its ban on flyer delivery would remain in place “until further notice.”
The union’s decision to up the ante with a ban on flyer delivery seems to be working, argued McMaster University labour studies professor Stephanie Ross.
“It seems to me the flyer ban has actually had its desired effect: to get the employer focused on counterproposals,” said Ross. “Now the employer’s saying, ‘Let us give you something that we think is workable.’ But it’s going to have to be something that’s better than their final offer.”
The offer comes just over a month after CUPW members rejected the Crown corporation’s “final offer” in a vote ordered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The union then presented a counter-offer which Canada Post had dismissed as unworkable, and adding new costs.
Canada Post didn’t reveal details of the new offer it plans to present next week.
Brock University labour studies professor Larry Savage said it’s still unclear whether the latest move from Canada Post is a genuine peace offering meant to bridge the gap between the two parties.
“I think Canada Post’s latest move could be read two ways: as an olive branch to get the parties back on track, or as an attempt to regain control of the bargaining agenda,” said Savage. “The devil is always in the details.”
The union has laid the 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.
The union has also repeatedly criticized veteran mediator William Kaplan, whose Industrial Inquiry Commission found that Canada Post is effectively insolvent.
Contract negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW have dragged on for more than 18 months and led to a month-long strike late last year.
In early August, 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.
Kaplan also said that there’s an impasse in bargaining and suggested arbitration wouldn’t be a good choice to deal with Canada Post’s need for restructuring.
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.
