Mediation between Canada Post and union temporarily suspended as both parties remained ‘too far apart’ on issues

Canada Post employees will continue striking for the foreseeable future as negotiations between the postal service and its workers’ union broke down on Wednesday.

 

Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced that a special federal mediator appointed by him had temporarily suspended mediation because both sides remained “too far apart on critical issues.”

 

The minister summoned both Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to his office, saying that they were both responsible for the “consequences of this conflict and for its resolution.”

 

“The parties have had access to the best mediation services it is possible to have. They need a bit of time to rethink their positions and to come back to the table with a renewed determination to get a deal,” he told reporters in Ottawa.

 

More than 55,000 Canada Post workers have been on strike since Nov. 15, at odds with their employer over a slew of issues related to wages, benefits and how to conduct weekend parcel delivery. The strike is taking place during the holiday shopping season, a critical time for retailers.

A sticking point for both parties is the structure of Canada Post’s work force, which includes a growing number of temporary and part-time staff.

 

“If this were only about money, it would be easier,” said Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University. “Because it’s about fundamental structure of work and Canada Post seems unwilling to think beyond a two-tier workforce, we are at an impasse.”

 

Weekend parcel delivery is a major issue. Package delivery is a growing part of Canada Post’s business and the corporation is intent on reducing its labour costs in order to compete with low-cost third-party couriers, such as Intelcom, GoShare and delivery.com. Those companies grew substantially during the pandemic and use independent contractors or gig workers to make deliveries every day of the week.

 

Canada Post says more than 95 per cent of its parcel delivery team is made up of full-time employees with benefits and a pension plan. The corporation has proposed adding more part-time workers to deliver parcels on weekends. (Currently, delivery only takes place on a few weekends each year.) Those new employees would have partial benefits and a defined contribution pension plan (as opposed to a defined benefit plan like full-time employees).

 

The union is deeply opposed to expanding the service’s part-time work force and wants its existing, full-time employees to deliver parcels on weekends. Those workers would have to be paid more than their hourly wage, as per their collective agreement.

 

According to CUPW, Canada Post’s proposal would see it schedule the new part-time employees for only eight hours of work a week. “Who can live off that?” said the union in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr. MacKinnon’s call for both parties to meet with him signals a strong expectation for a swift resolution, said Larry Savage, chair of the department of labour studies at Brock University. “It leaves the door open for government intervention if CUPW and Canada Post can’t reach an agreement.”

 

On multiple occasions this year, the federal government has employed section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, referring disputes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for binding arbitration. In August, striking rail workers were ordered back to work by the CIRB; more recently, the government intervened through the board to end two port strikes.

 

“The Liberals’ recent interventionist role in ending labour disputes is unusual even by Canadian standards, and the minister has been heavily criticized by the labour movement and their allies for siding with employers to quash the right to strike in airlines, railways and ports,” said David Doorey, professor of labour law at York University. “The minister no doubt wants to avoid intervening again, but he’s under pressure to get the mail moving.”

 

At the start of the strike, Mr. MacKinnon ruled out government intervention, saying he expected both sides to reach an agreement through bargaining. Prof. Doorey believes that the minister’s statement on Wednesday is an attempt to push both parties to reach a deal.

 

Meanwhile, consumers continue to be affected by the strike.

 

Aftab Ahmed, a Bangladeshi national who recently became a Canadian citizen, told The Globe and Mail that both his Canadian and Bangladeshi passports are stuck in the post after being mailed from the Bangladesh consulate in Toronto just hours after the strike began. He may not be able to travel as planned in December.

 

“I strongly support unions and collective bargaining. However, this is the first time such a strike has directly affected me and I cannot deny my anxiety,” he said.

 

Linda Croft, a resident of Fort Providence in the Northwest Territories, manages her town’s convenience store, gas bar and restaurant. The strike will mean fewer goods in stock at her businesses, she said. “The only alternative is to drive 16 hours to Alberta with hopes of finding what we need there in a store as opposed to getting goods delivered online.”

 

 

 

 

This article was first reported by The Globe and Mail