Canada Post makes new offers to union ahead of strike deadline

Canada Post has issued a new set of offers to the union representing postal workers and is pushing for a speedy resolution as the clock ticks down to a possible strike.

The Crown corporation confirmed Wednesday it has filed a new set of proposals for workers in the urban bargaining unit and the rural and suburban unit.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents about 55,000 employees of the postal service, said its negotiating team would examine the proposals this afternoon.

The new offers come days after the union issued a strike notice that could see postal workers back on the picket line on Friday.

Canada Post also said it has rejected the union's request for two weeks to consider the proposals.

"After two years of discussions, a lengthy strike and a five month pause for the Industrial Inquiry Commission, our employees, customers and Canadians are looking for the certainty that only agreements can provide. Further delay is in no one’s interest," Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu said in a statement Wednesday.

The Canadian Press has not independently confirmed that the union has requested a delay. CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant did the say the union would ask for two weeks to review any new offer in an interview with CTV earlier this week.

A separate statement from CUPW released Wednesday afternoon said it will be "taking time to carefully analyze and review the offers" and repeated its claim that Canada Post walked away from the bargaining table on multiple occasions.

"Given the delay, we hope that these offers will be substantive and respect the needs of workers as well as the communities we serve. The offers must ensure a stronger public post office, both for now and for the future," the statement read.

Liu said Canada Post remains "ready to talk as soon as possible" with the assistance of a mediator.

Canada Post said it has enhanced its wage offer for workers, with a gain of six per cent in year one, three per cent in year two and two per cent in years three and four, for a compounded increase of 13.59 per cent.

The proposal would come with six additional personal days on the calendar and better income replacement for short-term disability leave, the Crown corporation said.

Canada Post also said it is no longer proposing to introduce a new health benefits plan, change employees' post-retirement benefits or enrol future employees in the defined-contribution pension plan.

One sticking point addressed in Canada Post's latest round of offers is the proposal to add a corps of part-time workers that would allow for seven-day-a-week delivery.

Canada Post said in its new offers that it would provide health and pension benefits and schedule guaranteed hours for part-time workers.

It also said it would roll out an "initial, limited implementation" of dynamic routing — a move that would allow Canada Post to change routes daily to make more efficient use of workers' time.

The union accused Canada Post of walking away from the table after the Crown corporation paused negotiations last week.

That pause came before the release of a federally commissioned report on the viability of Canada Post's flagging business model in the context of labour negotiations.

Commissioner William Kaplan, who led the inquiry that drafted the 162-page report, wrote in it that Canada Post faces an "existential crisis." He recommended phasing out daily door-to-door mail delivery, among other structural changes to the postal service.

Canada Post has warned of delays in mail deliveries if the union resumes its strike, which was interrupted over the holiday season when the federal government intervened in the labour dispute.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi