Canada Post said on Sunday it had presented the Canadian Union of Postal Workers with new proposals in a bid to end a nationwide strike that is now well into a third week.
In a short statement, Canada Post said it had given the union “proposals to bring greater flexibility to the corporation’s delivery model, while also demonstrating movement on other key issues.”
The detail of the proposals was not specified.
“It is our hope that these proposals will reignite discussions and, together with the support of mediators, help the parties work toward final agreements,” Canada Post stated.
A strike that began on November 15 has paralyzed mail across the country. The effect of the stoppage is felt particularly keenly in the North’s isolated communities, where Canada Post is sometimes the sole means of sending or receiving items ranging from mail to medication and more.
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On Friday last week, unionized workers picketing Yellowknife’s downtown post office said they felt any chance of being able to meaningfully move the NWT’s mail before Christmas had almost certainly vanished.
Issues at stake in the labour dispute include pay increases, benefits, how new technology is introduced and used, and Canada Post’s plans to change the way it works, which the company says has to happen for it to be more competitive and stop losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Postal workers’ union CUPW says it is also challenging some proposals for newly hired staff that would “leave our future co-workers behind.”
In a national update on Friday, CUPW said it was “ready and waiting for Canada Post to return to the bargaining table” after a federally appointed mediator halted talks, saying the two sides were too far apart.
The union said it hoped the employer would “reassess its positions and finally come to see the flaws in its bargaining proposals.”
In a separate statement, the union said it was beginning legal action against Canada Post over lay-offs that began last week, calling them a “clear intimidation tactic in violation of the Canada Labour Code.”
