OTTAWA — The threat of possible job action by Canada Post workers has been placed on hold for 24 hours.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers made the announcement in a statement issued late Sunday night.
"We’ve amended our notice in a last-ditch effort to reach a negotiated agreement before we are forced to start working to rule," said CUPW national president Mike Palecek.
The union served 72 hour strike notice Thursday night, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption by refusing to bargain in good faith.
It said that if there was no deal by midnight Sunday, it would begin job action on Monday by having its members refuse to work overtime on a rotating basis, starting in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
The two sides have been deadlocked for months on the issues of pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees.
A federally appointed mediator was brought in Friday, and Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton said in a statement Sunday night that the Crown corporation had agreed to extend the talks for 24 hours at the mediator's request.
Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk welcomed the development.
"It is an encouraging sign of ongoing progress and a renewed determination to negotiate a new collective agreement," she said in a release issued by her office early Monday morning.
The minister said she would remain focused on supporting the ongoing negotiations, and would continue to monitor the situation closely.
Palecek previously said that the union's planned job action would have little effect on Canada Post customers, noting the mail would still be delivered.
Hamilton disagreed with that assessment, warning in a phone interview that the threat of job action was creating uncertainty for customers and would have a huge impact on the business "whether the union likes it or not."
E-COMMERCE GIANT URGES BUSINESSES TO WRITE PM OVER CANADA POST DISPUTE
OTTAWA — One of the country's biggest e-commerce companies is urging businesses to call for a legislated end to the labour dispute at Canada Post.
The letter-writing campaign launched by eBay comes as contract negotiations between the Crown agency and its biggest union stretch into overtime.
Small and medium-sized online sellers have been scrambling to find alternative delivery arrangements ever since the Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued a 72-hour strike notice last week.
Talks continued over the weekend with the aid of a special mediator and threatened job action by the union's 51,000 members was halted today under a 24-hour extension aimed at reaching a last-minute agreement.
But Andrea Stairs, eBay Canada's managing director, says if a contract settlement can't be reached, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should at the very least send a signal that he's prepared to force an end to the impasse.
Canada Post has been bargaining with its employees for nine months, but both sides were far apart as of late last week over key issues of pension reform and pay scales for rural postal workers.
