Talks between Canada Post and negotiators from its union are expected to resume over the next few days, its union said Sunday after the two parties met amid warnings of mail delivery delays tied to a national ban on overtime for postal workers.
In an afternoon statement, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said its negotiators had “worked hard to carefully evaluate” Canada Post’s latest offers and prepare responses ahead of the day’s meeting with the employer and the mediators.
Union president Jan Simpson said in the statement that the union learned at 12:50 p.m. ET that Canada Post had left the premises to review documents from the union, and that the employer may take a few days to respond.
“We would hope the corporation is back to us as soon as possible. Although talks continue, the nationwide overtime ban remains in effect,” Simpson wrote.
In an email to CBC News, Canada Post confirmed that it received the union’s responses, adding it will “review them in detail.”
Canada Post general strike on hold — for now
Canada Post presented its latest offers to the union on Wednesday, which included a hike in pay and plans to roll out a fleet of part-time workers.
The CUPW requested a two-week “truce” to consider the offer, but that was rejected by the employer.
Sunday’s meeting was set to be the first of the weekend, a spokesperson for the Crown corporation had said. A mediator was on hand to work with the parties who have been deadlocked for months in efforts to secure a new collective bargaining agreement.
In an earlier email, CUPW criticized Canada Post for rejecting its truce proposal, which it said left negotiators with only a few days to comb through the legal wording of the 700-page offer.
“If instability hangs over these negotiations, it’s due to Canada Post’s uncompromising stance and time management,” the union wrote in a statement.
The most recent agreement between the parties, which was extended by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after Ottawa intervened in the month-long holiday-season strike late last year, expired Thursday.
While CUPW issued a 72-hour strike notice earlier in the week that could have seen workers walk off the job first thing Friday morning, the union instead issued a national ban on taking overtime work while it considered the latest deal.
The union said in a bulletin to members last week that Canada Post’s most recent offers “fall short” on wages and other key sticking points in the negotiations.
Canada Post said the offers reflect its financial realities.
An Industrial Inquiry Commission set up by the federal government found the postal service was effectively “bankrupt” and recommended a series of structural changes in a report released earlier this month.
That included recommendations to phase out daily door-to-door delivery and implement a “dynamic routing” system that could see mail carriers’ routes change on a daily basis.
