Canada Post says the two-year deal it has reached with its largest union will give it more time to look at how best to address some of the issues it faces without the threat of a work disruption.
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Reaching a tentative agreement late last night, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have ensured that mail delivery will continue. The threatened job action was to involve a refusal of overtime in some parts of the country.
These agreements are for a period of two years, rather than the typical four-year contracts negotiated in the past.
See the full statement below from MaryAnn Mihychuk, minister of employment, workforce development and labour.
According to CUPW’s research, Canada Post’s pay system – which allocates compensation for suburban and rural workers according to the number of packages delivered – disproportionately affects its female members.
The agreement, which has eliminated the possibility of a strike from workers in the CUPW, comes after ten months of hard negotiations. A mediator had been called in at the last minute on Friday and had asked for two 24 hour extensions to continue the talks.
The national mail carrier noted that it must deal with issues such as declining mail volume and growing pension obligations.
Canada Post had wanted to change the pension plan for new employees to be a defined contribution plan instead of a defined benefit plan.
Canada Post and the union have been negotiating off and on for nine months.
The Government of Canada would like to thank Mr. Kaplan, Mr. Baron and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service team for their hard work on behalf of Canadians.
The potential deals apply to rural and urban postal workers.
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Tuesday’s letter was signed by 200 women primarily from English-speaking Canada, including actress Sarah Polley, author Naomi Klein and social activists Maude Barlow and Judy Rebick.
