This Friday (Oct 19), Canada Post will release hot new global deals. This announcement comes on the heels of a labour impasse between the Canada Post Corporation and 55,000 postal workers represented by the CUPW. The contentious negotiations, ongoing for the past four months, have focused on key points such as pay, part-time employment and delivery expectations.
The upcoming meeting will be an important turning point in the negotiations, 44 days after CUPW finally presented their own proposals on September 21. Moreover, it is only 63 days since a forced vote to end the standoff failed to break the gridlock. The ongoing standoff is creating huge pressure on both Canada Post and CUPW. Once again they are diving deep in search of common ground as passions are inflamed by inflammatory rhetoric.
CUPW union negotiators echoed that sentiment, confirming that they will once again consider Canada Post’s last-minute proposals during this week’s scheduled mediation sessions. The union has countered that its members did not accept what Canada Post is calling its “final offer” back in early August. This rejection underscores just how bad the current impasse is. It also underscores the reality of what each side needs to do in order to come to a deal.
Canada Post, a Crown corporation, has described the current situation as involving “significant new costs and restrictions at a challenging time.” This statement reflects the organization’s concerns about the financial implications of the ongoing negotiations and the potential impact on postal services.
All parties seem to be preparing for a real negotiation on Friday. An electric desire to address the challenges before us permeates the space. The protracted negotiations have raised fears regarding the fate of postal services in Canada. They call into question the humanitarian and safety protections promised to workers represented by CUPW.
