Canada Post workers picket outside a facility in Mississauga, Ont., on Nov. 20.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
With the Canada Post strike nearing four weeks, the postal service says it doesn’t see an end in sight.
On Monday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers sent over its latest list of proposals, which include wage gains and job protections.
But Canada Post said in a statement Monday that the proposals don’t bring the two sides any closer together in a dispute that’s brought millions of deliveries to a halt.
It said it’s conducting a full review of the offers, but said the union has in some cases increased its demands or reverted to previous positions.
CUPW similarly said that Canada Post has not backed down on what it called “numerous rollbacks” to pensions, benefits and salary increases.
The union’s new wage proposal is lower than its previous demands. On Monday, it said it’s asking for wage increases of nine per cent in the first year of the contract, followed by four per cent in the second year and three per cent in the following two years – a total of 19 per cent. That compares with an earlier demand for 22 per cent or a compounded 24 per cent.
It said it’s also asking for a cost of living allowance, more job security, and higher short-term disability payments.
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For urban workers, the union is asking for a minimum 20-hour schedule for all part-time employees, as well as improved full-time staffing and more protections against technological change.
One of the key issues in bargaining has been a potential expansion into weekend deliveries, with the two sides at odds over how to staff the expansion.
Canada Post has said it plans to staff the weekend shifts with a mix of new permanent part-time positions and some full-time. But the union has accused it of trying to increase its reliance on part-time workers.
The Crown corporation said it wants to bring flexibility to its delivery model as it struggles to compete with other carriers and is trying to stem ongoing financial losses.
Despite calls for the government to intervene in the strike approaching four weeks long, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that the government is putting pressure on the two sides to reach an agreement.
The Assembly of First Nations says the continuing postal strike is delaying supplies of medicine and other necessities to rural and remote communities.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is calling on Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to reach a resolution to the strike, which is nearing four weeks.
Negotiations with a federal mediator were suspended nearly two weeks ago.
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Woodhouse Nepinak says many First Nations people rely on Canada Post for prescription medications and other items.
“The strike has delayed the delivery of financial supports, basic goods and other necessities, which is particularly challenging as families prepare for winter and depend on reliable delivery of necessary goods to maintain their well-being,” she said in a press release Tuesday.
“We are calling on Canada Post, CUPW and the federal government to work together to reach an immediate resolution that restores these critical services to First Nations citizens and businesses while addressing the concerns of postal workers.”
Natan Obed, president of an organization representing 70,000 Inuit, said earlier this week that some people have had to fly south to buy medicine.
He said his group, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, has sent letters to the federal government, asking it to intervene.
The strike has affected other health services as well.
The Ontario government is telling people not to mail in their at-home fecal immunochemical test kits for colorectal screening but to instead drop them off at laboratory collection centres.
The strike began Nov. 14, and though a federal mediator was appointed, that was put on hold nearly two weeks ago due to the sides being too far apart.