Canada Post says it is rethinking its contract proposals to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) after the federal government announced major reforms to the postal service on Sept. 25.
Minister Joël Lightbound said Canada Post must modernize its operations so it can continue serving Canadians while reducing heavy losses. Since 2018, the corporation has reported more than $5 billion in financial losses.
In a media release issued Sept. 26, Canada Post said it remains committed to reaching a fair deal with the union but acknowledged the two sides are still far apart.
In the same release, the corporation expressed disappointment that CUPW called a nationwide strike in response to the reforms, saying the work stoppage will make its financial situation even worse.
Canada Post estimated the union’s latest proposals, tabled on Aug. 20, would add about $2.8 billion in costs over four years. The corporation outlined several key concerns:
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Significant new costs – More than $700 million a year in new operating costs, including unchanged wage demands, new benefit improvements, new vehicles and other items.
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Increased paid time off – Seventeen personal days, up four from current levels, on top of vacation leave of up to seven weeks and statutory holidays. These additional days are part of the $2.8 billion total.
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More full-time employees – Contracting out would be eliminated or sharply limited, requiring that new services be staffed by CUPW-represented employees.
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Limits on operational changes – Any organizational adjustments would be treated as “technological changes” and restricted under existing collective agreement rules.
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Protecting pay for unworked hours – Letter carriers would continue to receive eight hours’ pay even if mail volumes allowed them to finish earlier, with no provision for reassignment. The Industrial Inquiry Commission led by William Kaplan noted: “There is no persuasive case to be made that any business – especially an effectively insolvent business – should be put in a situation where it must pay people for 8 hours a day and not be able to reassign them to other work should they finish early (or where it is anticipated they will do so).”
Despite the labour dispute, Canada Post said in its Sept. 26 release that it supports the government’s reforms, calling them a path to a more reliable and financially stable postal service.
“Canadians deserve a postal service that is reliable, affordable and sustainable,” the corporation said, adding it would work to minimize disruptions while treating employees fairly.