Leaders of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are meeting today with staff from the office of Joël Lightbound, the federal minister responsible for Canada Post, as part of ongoing efforts to push the Crown corporation back to the bargaining table.
CUPW President Jan Simpson said the meeting follows a discussion with the minister last week, during which the union “presented a different picture from the one the Corporation has been promoting to the public.”
“We told the minister that repeated government interference in our bargaining process has pushed Canada Post further away from meaningful negotiations,” Simpson said. “Corporate decisions made over the last several years have harmed both postal workers and the communities we serve.”
According to Simpson, CUPW remains concerned that recent management proposals to alter Canada Post’s public mandate would undermine the postal service’s long-term sustainability.
“Allowing Canada Post to make sweeping changes to its mandate will not save our public post office,” she said. “It will start a downward spiral that harms workers, businesses, charities, and the public who rely on us every day. That decision needs to be reversed.”
Simpson added that the union intends to correct what it describes as misinformation about the current round of bargaining and conditions in postal workplaces across the country. “We want the minister’s office to understand what’s really happened at the bargaining table over the last two years,” she said.
CUPW’s National Executive Board and Negotiating Committees are seeking renewed talks aimed at reaching “ratifiable collective agreements that support strong public services, good jobs, and a sustainable post office.”
“This is about ensuring decision-makers hear directly from postal workers — not just from management,” Simpson said.
CUPW said it expects to provide an update on the outcome of today’s meeting once discussions conclude.