News of the agreements came shortly after the print edition of the Osoyoos Times went to press with a story describing the precarious situation as CUPW threatened to prevent its members from working overtime on a rotating basis between the provinces and territories to put pressure on Canada Post.
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Canada Post describes the tentative agreements as short-term and they still must be ratified by union members.
The agreements are for two years, rather than the usual four-year agreements that were negotiated in the past.
A mediator had been called in at the last minute on Friday and had asked for two 24 hour extensions to continue the talks.
But a combination of reduced letter volumes, customers lost for good because of the labour strife and the giant pension hole means dark days ahead for Canada Post, he predicted.
Five years ago, in the summer of 2011, the union held rotating strikes until Canada Post imposed a lockout.
These tentative agreements, reached voluntarily by the parties, are an important reminder for us all that a fair and balanced collective bargaining process works and can achieve real results for Canadian workers and employers. “I think the future can be bright for Canada Post”.
The issues in this dispute were the implementation of a defined contribution retirement plan for new employees and the creation of new positions for evening and weekend deliveries. This approach provides more time for thoughtful discussion and analysis on how to best address these issues without the ongoing threat of a work disruption. A day earlier, small businesses that rely on web-based sales were encouraged to write Trudeau and demand legislation to break the impasse.
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Major sticking points during the nine months of negotiations included keeping defined benefit pension plans for newer workers and addressing pay equity issues between rural and urban mail carriers.
