Canada Post workers give 72-hour notice to strike

The union representing Canada Post workers said it will be in a legal strike position on Friday, exactly one year after talks on a new contract began.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said in a statement early Tuesday its executive board was giving the required 72-hours notice for both its rural and urban mail carrier bargaining units.

The union said that despite talks that began Nov. 15, 2023, “the parties remain far apart on many issues,” including on wage increases, pensions and medical leave.

CUPW was in a legal strike position as of Nov. 3 after a legally mandated cooling-off period. In a vote last month, over 95 per cent of both urban and rural workers backed a strike mandate, the union has said.

But in the statement early Tuesday from CUPW President Jan Simpson, the union said it hasn’t decided if a job action will take place immediately, saying it “will depend on Canada Post’s actions at the bargaining table in the days to come.”

Canada Post has said in recent strike-related statements that it’s at a “critical juncture” and that “deteriorating financial situation could require the company to revisit its proposals.”

It warned that continued labour strife will adversely affected the company and have consequences for customers over the upcoming busy holiday period, especially in rural communities.

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Craig Dyer, president of the St. John’s-based chapter of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, says workers are demanding a fair deal. At this point, workers could give a 72-hour strike notice or Canada Post could issue a 72-hour lockout notice.

The Crown corporation recently proposed annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over four years.and has said it wants to negotiate “a more flexible and affordable delivery model” that would include parcel delivery seven days a week.

Canada Post said in a recent news release that it lost $490 million in the first half of 2024. Losses before tax for 2023 were $748 million, due to competition from a post-pandemic surge in parcel delivery services, lower volumes of transaction mail, and higher delivery costs.