Canada Put up has been
notified of a attainable strike
on Friday after negotiations between the company and its employees have confirmed to be unsuccessful.
On Wednesday, the
union mentioned it might be reviewing proposals
from the company. Nevertheless, the 2 sides haven’t been in a position to agree on primary phrases to this point. In accordance with
a not too long ago launched report
they’ve “diametrically opposed world views and assessments of the challenges to be confronted and the options to them.” The report, known as the Industrial Inquiry Fee (IIC), is the results of a sequence of hearings held between Canada Put up and its union, the Canadian Union of Postal Employees (CUPW).
In its
Canada Put up is providing a 13 per cent whole wage improve for present workers, in addition to “higher earnings alternative for go away underneath the short-term incapacity program, and 6 added private days locked into the collective agreements.”
The union mentioned its determination to strike was made because the collective agreements for its bargaining items are set to run out on Could 23 at midnight.
These agreements had been prolonged by the federal government in December 2024, after the union’s final strike, which lasted 32 days. It got here to an finish after intervention from then
minister of labour Steven MacKinnon
who requested that the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) order Canada Put up workers again to work if it believed that an settlement wouldn’t be reached by the top of the 12 months.
Union employees had been ordered to get again on the job on Dec. 17, 2024. Though it put an finish to placing, the problems remained unresolved. What adopted had been ongoing negotiations, which have continued till the eve of the expiration of the most recent collective agreements.
Right here’s what to know.
What does the union need?
The
that it needs “truthful wages, secure working situations, the proper to retire with dignity, and the enlargement of providers on the public submit workplace.”
Canada Put up workers who’re a part of CUPW are additionally combating again towards “drastic cuts,” similar to closing submit places of work, ending door-to-door supply, increasing Neighborhood Mailboxes, outsourcing to franchises, and even privatization. The union launched a marketing campaign known as
Fingers Off My Put up Workplace
to boost consciousness about these points.
“Competing with U.S. e-commerce giants shouldn’t imply decrease requirements. Employees deserve truthful therapy, and Canadians deserve dependable, to-the-door service,” the union mentioned.
What does Canada Put up need?
Canada Put up has suffered main monetary losses, which appear to be taking part in a task in its calls for. It has mentioned that it needs to succeed in collective agreements that defend employees and improve wages and advantages “whereas reflecting the Firms’ present realities.”
“Since 2018, the Company has recorded greater than $3 billion in losses earlier than tax, and it’ll submit one other vital loss for 2024,” mentioned Canada Put up in
a information launch on Monday
. “In early 2025, the Authorities of Canada introduced repayable funding of as much as $1.034 billion for Canada Put up to stop insolvency.”
A component-time weekend workforce and workweek efficiencies are a right away precedence for Canada Put up, the IIC report said.
Commissioner William Kaplan known as the union’s proposals to develop its companies “unrealistic,” as are its plans to duplicate providers offered by different corporations, similar to “introducing postal banking, seniors check-ins, establishing artisanal markets at postal stations, and reworking postal stations into neighborhood social hubs.”
“In my opinion,” wrote Kaplan, “given the monetary disaster, Canada Put up should give attention to saving its core enterprise, not on offering new providers.”
What are a number of the sticking factors between the union and Canada Put up?
The report summarized the principle sticking factors between the union and Canada Put up because the company’s monetary scenario, its must diversify or alter its supply fashions in response to present enterprise calls for, Canada Put up’s viability as it’s at present configured, the union’s negotiated commitments to job safety and full-time employment and the necessity to defend the well being and security of workers.
Weekend work is a serious sticking level that each events can’t appear to agree upon. The brand new provides from Canada Put up, which are actually underneath evaluation, keep the necessity for part-time work, which will increase “the corporate’s supply flexibility, particularly on weekends, whereas guaranteeing that letter carriers aren’t required to work weekend shifts.”
Nevertheless, the union insists that “choice ought to be given to full-time work,” it mentioned in its
weekend full-time idea and costing report
in March.
Canada Put up additionally needs to finish door-to-door supply service, which is the primary advice made within the IIC report, as a result of it’s a monetary burden. The union says that the service is price preserving as a result of it meets the “wants of the Canadian folks, notably the aged and disabled, whereas neighborhood mailboxes introduced accessibility and different challenges.”
As a part of its newest proposals, Canada Put up mentioned it needs to implement dynamic routing, which it says is an business customary that entails planning and optimizing supply routes day by day and “creating extra constant, predictable service for purchasers.” The report said that the union agreed it may very well be cost-saving. However after a failed pilot challenge in 2017, Canada Put up mentioned the corporate and union might “not agree on lots of its core elements.”
What occurred final time Canada Put up employees went on a strike?
Canada Put up strike: What occurs to the parcels already accepted?
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