There is still no end in sight to the national postal strike, which is entering day 13 on Wednesday.
Canada Post says talks with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have come to a halt on “key issues critical to the Corporation’s future.”
“The parties have been working with the assistance of a special mediator since November 18, but progress has been limited to minor items,” the corporation said in a news release late Tuesday.
Canada Post said it has put forward detailed proposals to “bring more flexibility to its outdated, mail-based delivery model” — changes it says are necessary to better compete in the parcel business and drive much-needed revenue growth.
Its proposals include adding a greater mix of part-time and full-time employees to provide weekend delivery and “respond to the daily variations in parcel volumes.”
“However, after not responding over the past several days, CUPW has just informed us, through the special mediator, that it will not be responding at all,” said the corporation.
Meanwhile, CUPW has shot back at claims made by Canada Post that it spent part of the weekend at the bargaining table talking about cleaners working inside facilities, calling it an “outright misrepresentation.”
The union said its negotiators spent the weekend working on a response to the employer’s latest weekend delivery proposal, which was presented late Friday.
CUPW said the proposal would see Canada Post hire part-time staff for Saturday-only delivery who would have eight hours of scheduled work per week.
“Canada Post appears to be trying to sway public opinion and turn Canadians against postal workers, who have continually demonstrated a deep commitment to the country and its citizens,” CUPW said in its own release on Tuesday.
“This tactic of distraction not only mischaracterizes the nature of the Negotiations but undermines the hard work and dedication shown by postal employees.”
CUPW also accused a Canada Post negotiator of threatening to contract out parcels delivered on the weekends and said the employer had not responded to urban demands presented a month ago.
The union said Canada Post “outright rejected” some of its proposals for staffing and refused to discuss contracting out and contracting in for the urban unit.
