As Canada’s national postal strike stretched into its 18th day Monday, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) appear close to resuming mediated talks after the federal special mediator suspended negotiations between the two parties last week.
In a statement to the Star on Sunday, Canada Post said it presented the union with “a comprehensive framework for reaching negotiated agreements.”
“It is our hope that these proposals will reignite discussions and, together with the support of mediators, help the parties work toward final agreements,” Canada Post said.
On Sunday evening, CUPW said that the union “is ready” to restart mediation and that its negotiators are “working to review” Canada Post’s proposed framework.
“Management knows we won’t settle for anything less than what we deserve,” CUPW said.
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, by contrast, was less optimistic in a statement posted to the social media platform X on Sunday.
“Mediation will only resume once the special mediator has clear evidence that both parties have sufficiently modified their respective positions,” MacKinnon wrote. “Unfortunately, there has been no such evidence to date.”
Last week, MacKinnon said he was “extremely frustrated” that the parties had not made substantial progress despite having access to the “best mediation services that it is possible to have.”
In an interview with CTV News Sunday, CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant described the framework as “an offer of an offer.”
Though the details of Canada Post’s proposed framework are not known, Adam King, an assistant professor of labour studies at the University of Manitoba, said it’s a “good sign” for the resumption of mediated negotiations.
“What we’re really waiting on now is to see how the union responds to this overall framework, if it’s enough for them to reengage, and then we can go from there, essentially,” King said.
The news of potentially renewed talks comes as Canadians are increasingly seeing the impact of the nationwide stoppage of postal operations.
According to new survey data collected by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the strike “has cost the small- and medium-sized business sector at least $765 million.” The CFIB also reports that 69 per cent of small-business owners support the use of back-to-work legislation to end the strike.
A host of public services — including the delivery of parking permits, driver’s licences and health cards — remain impacted by the strike.
Outside Canada, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced Friday that it will “temporarily suspend” accepting international mail bound for Canada due to the strike.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the union said it was filing a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) after Canada Post confirmed it was laying off a “limited number of employees” during the national strike.
“Canada Post did not consult the union before laying off our members and is refusing to provide essential information to the union in terms of the number of layoffs, when they happened and how employees were selected for these layoffs,” CUPW said.
Canada Post denied ”any violation of the Canada Labour Code” and told the Star that it “will be responding to the complaint.”
Ultimately, the decision to lay off workers could strengthen the resolve of CUPW membership, said Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University.
“From a public relations perspective and from a perspective of angering the union leadership and membership, it might not be a very good move on the part of Canada Post,” Ross said. “Those are things that actually galvanize workers to continue their resistance.”
