The notice came shortly after Canada Post said its latest (and final) offer, presented to the union on June 25, was fair and reasonable and still that it still hoped for a negotiated settlement.
Advertisement
Palecek explained that “we’ve been sounding the alarm about this for some time”, adding that “it has been patently obvious by (management’s) behaviour at the table and in public that their intention was to provoke a labour dispute and this is exactly what they’ve done”. However, if no deal is reached, before then, Canada Post says it will suspend the collective agreement as of Friday.
Canada Post said the 72-hour notice does not necessarily mean it will shut down on Friday. As the threat of a work stoppage or strike loomed over Canada, fewer packages and pieces of mail went through Canada Post, leading to a business decline.
According to CFIB, more than 90 per cent of business owners say Canada Post’s delivery services are somewhat or very important to their business.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that his government is not considering back-to-work legislation right away, a change from the former Conservative government’s decision to follow that path in the immediate aftermath of a lockout in 2011.
The union wants to see a pay increase for its rural, mostly female carriers, who earn 28 per cent less than their urban, mostly male, counterparts to address what CUPW sees as a pay equity issue.
He also denied the union’s accusations that Canada Post has been planning a lockout all along.
Spokesman Jon Hamilton says the company has not given the required 72 hours notice of a lockout, nor has the union given notice of any job action.
Palecek stated that “our goal is to continue the service to the public. They refused to negotiate fairly with us and now they’re locking the doors and will try to starve us into submission”.
The Canada Post Group of Companies, including Purolator, recorded a before-tax profit of $136 million past year.
Canada Post informed the union that it would be changing the terms and conditions of employment for all union employees. “Rather than accepting the new, generous pension arrangement, it seems weird that the postal union would not accept a generous offer and instead choose to disrupt their customers, motivating even more to look at alternatives, likely never to return to Canada Post”.
Advertisement
Mail carrier Leo Gaspari delivers mail on his route in the Don Mills and Lawrence area in Toronto on December 11, 2013.
