The longer negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) over a new contract stretches on, the more likely there will be a strike, says Doug Ford, president of the local 564 covering Lindsay and Haliburton County.
Approximately 55,000 letter carriers, mail service couriers, postal clerks and mail handlers nationwide have been working without a contract since Dec. 31, 2023, Ford said. Union officials have been in talks with higher ups from the Crown corporation for months, but as of Nov. 6 no deal has been struck.
Canada Post’s latest offer, presented last week, included annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over the next four years, while also including protections for defined benefit and pension plans for current employees.
Speaking to The Highlander Monday evening, Ford said the offer didn’t address workers’ main concerns.
“When Canada Post publicizes the offers they’ve made, what they focus on is things like wage increases. But they’re not telling the public about what they’re trying to take away,” Ford said. “Canada Post has told the public they wish to get into seven-day delivery to compete with Amazon – CUPW, I don’t think, is disagreeing with that. Where the problem lies is in the language of the contract.”
Ford said, now, all CUPW employees enjoy “predictable” schedules with regular hours during the traditional work week. While there’s an acceptance workers may have to lose weekends, Ford said what’s being proposed goes further than that.
“Today, you might have a Monday to Friday job, but in the new contract you’d be expected to work seven days a week. Possibly four hours some days, and eight to 12 hours other days. These are things the union sees as non-negotiable,” Ford said.
He also expressed concern over a two-tier wage and benefits system Canada Post is trying to include in a fresh deal, meaning new employees would start at a significantly reduced rate. “We want everybody to be equal,” Ford said.
In a statement to CBC Nov. 3, Canada Post said it is “rapidly falling behind in today’s highly competitive, customer-focused parcel delivery market,” and is proposing a seven-day work week as a possible solution.
The Crown corporation has reported losses of $490 million through the first six months of 2024 and $3 billion since 2018.
Ford said of the approximate 100 unionized employees in the region, about 95 per cent voted in favour of a strike mandate. Nationwide, CPUW reported approximately 90 per cent of employees supported a potential strike.
“We’ve given the national executive board the right to bargain on our behalf. But we don’t want to be on strike. That’s not what anybody wants. Most of our members are living paycheck to paycheck. Nobody can really afford to go on strike, especially over the holidays,” said Ford.
The union has to provide 72-hours’ notice before striking – Ford predicts if that were to happen, the first step would be rotational walkouts in major hubs like Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, and Vancouver. If a full-scale lockout is called, customers in the County would be impacted, he said.
Ford said he’s been with Canada Post since 2007 and has been involved in multiple labour disruptions – the last in 2018, which ran for three days before the federal government mandated the postal workers return to work and sent the issue to binding arbitration.
Ford expects a similar thing would happen again, though retains hope for a negotiated contract.
“That’s what all organized labour people want to see. Unfortunately, history with Canada Post has shown often that just isn’t possible. We’ve had to settle for third party negotiated agreements in the past,” he said.
Since 1965, CPUW has been involved in 19 major labour disputes with their employer.
