Canada Post presents latest offer in union negotiations after last week's strike mandate
Jenna Benchetrit | CBC News | Posted: October 30, 2024 4:32 PM | Last Updated: October 30
CUPW said members voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike
Canada Post has presented its latest contract offer in labour negotiations with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) less than a week after the union received a strike mandate from workers.
In a bid to reach a new deal without a labour disruption, the latest proposal includes annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over four years.
It also protects the defined-benefit pension for current employees, as well as their job security and health benefits.
The union announced late last week that its members voted overwhelmingly to support a strike if a deal could not be reached at the bargaining table.
It said preliminary results showed 95.8 per cent of urban workers and 95.5 per cent of rural workers voted to back the strike mandate.
A cooling-off period in the contract talks ends on Saturday. Workers would be in a legal position to strike as of 12:01 a.m. ET on Nov. 3, if notice is given 72 hours in advance.
"We recognize the challenges our employer is facing, and our goal is not to simply make demands, but to work together toward solutions that support the long-term success of our public post office while addressing the real struggles our members face daily," said CUPW National President Jan Simpson in a statement on Monday.
Rural Canadians would feel strike most acutely: prof
Nita Chhinzer, a professor of human resource management at the University of Guelph, said that the parties are getting closer to aligning on core issues at the heart of the negotiations, which she said is "quite promising."
The strike mandate "kind of puts a fire underneath both parties to resolve the issue by November 2nd. And I think that that can actually escalate the desire [for] communication," Chhinzer said.
If employees do strike, Canadians living in remote or rural areas — especially in the North — would feel the effects of a strike more acutely than those who live in markets where competitors like FedEx are still operating.
While higher wages and safe working conditions are on the union's list of demands, its push for a solid retirement plan reflects the changing needs of the company's aging employees.
Canada Post is likely looking at mass retirement within its workforce over the next few years, according to Chhinzer.
"The issue is retirement has a longer-term impact, because it's a multi-year investment in an individual," she said. But she added that concerns over the cost of retirement are not unique to Canada Post.
"Overall in Canada, we have an aging workforce and a lot of different unions that we're seeing are fighting on the issues of the retirement funding end of wages."
Strike would deepen financial crisis, says Canada Post
Canada Post wrote in a statement on its website last week that it was committed to finding common ground during negotiations.
"A labour disruption would have significant consequences for the businesses we serve and the millions of Canadians who rely on Canada Post, while deepening the company's already serious financial situation," the statement read.
Canada Post declined an interview with CBC News. CUPW was not immediately available for an interview.
Labour Minister Stephen MacKinnon told CBC News that the government is working between the two parties.
"We're obviously active in trying to facilitate a collective agreement, and we want the two parties to agree and for that agreement to be ratified," the minister said on Wednesday.
Canada Post and CUPW have been negotiating and meeting regularly for almost a year.
The Crown corporation said in a recent news release that it lost $490 million in the first half of 2024, in addition to the $3 billion it lost between 2018 and 2023.
CBC previously reported in May that the company suffered a $748-million loss before tax in 2023, citing competition from a post-pandemic surge in parcel delivery services, lower volumes of transaction mail, and higher delivery costs.
At the time, it warned that it could run out of operating funds in less than a year.