As Canadians head into the weekend, Canada Post and the union representing its workers said no job action is imminent in coming days with both parties still at the negotiating table.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers told Global News in an email on Friday that no 72-hour notice has been given by the union for a strike, nor a lockout notice issued by the employer, meaning neither can occur at least before Tuesday.
“CUPW is committed to negotiated collective agreements at the bargaining table,” a spokesperson wrote. “We are fighting for fair wages, safe working conditions and to retire with dignity. We are also fighting for an expansion of services at the public post office.”
In a statement from Canada Post, the Crown corporation said its regular business operations were continuing as normal and said they were focused on reaching an agreement without any labour disruption.
The union has been in a legal strike position since this past Sunday after a cooling-off period in contract talks ended the day before.
The latest statements come three days after CUPW provided the company with its second offers for urban and rural members, which included compounded wage increases of 23.79 per cent over four years.
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CUPW’s offers also included previously-made demands of improved benefits and 10 paid medical days for its members, as well as issues around contracting in work and maximizing and maintaining eight-hour routes.
Last week, Canada Post presented its own latest offers including higher annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over four years and protection for workers’ pensions.
“To grow our parcel business and bring in much needed revenue, Canada Post needs to offer seven-day-a-week parcel delivery, more competitive pricing and other important improvements,” a spokesperson for the company wrote Friday.
“This new delivery model is essential for the future of the company, and critical to our ability to afford the offer we’ve put forward for current employees.”
While job action has yet to occur, the Retail Council of Canada is warning even the potential strike at Canada Post, alongside a lockout at British Columbia’s ports and partial strike at the Port of Montreal, is posing a “triple threat” to both Canadian businesses and customers.
“We’re calling this the triple-threat strike,” Matt Poirier, vice-president of federal government relations for the Retail Council of Canada, said. “It’s the busiest time of the year for retailers as well, the holiday season, this is what makes their year.”
Poirier said with container traffic blocked at the ports, it’s keeping many goods from arriving in stores and that in turn can impact customers because they could eventually be faced with empty shelves.
Employers and the union representing supervisors at the B.C. ports say they will attempt to reach a deal when talks restart this weekend. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon’s office confirmed to the Canadian Press he had spoken with both sides, though no section of the Canadian Labour Code was invoked to force them back to talks.
Meanwhile at the Port of Montreal, the employers’ association said the dockworkers’ union was issued a “final, comprehensive offer” and threatened to lock out workers on Sunday night if a deal isn’t reached.
If Canada Post does strike, the union has not said if it would consider rotating or full job action.
The Retail Council of Canada is concerned about not only getting merchandise on the shelves given the port strikes, but getting goods to customers who order by delivery.
“A lot of small retailers in particular are really reliant on Canada Post to get the ordered goods to their customers,” he said. “It really does change the economics of the business model when you have to start looking at alternatives that could be pricier and especially when everyone else is, the prices spike and the service might not be as reliable.”
The federal government has previously urged Canada Post and CUPW to come together to reach a collective agreement, but MacKinnon would not say if Ottawa would intervene.
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