A new labor contract for Canada Post employees that would end months of customers’ uncertainty still appears to be a long way off.
At the bargaining table, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers hasn't yet responded to the carrier's "final offers" that were issued May 28, Canada Post said in an email to Supply Chain Dive. The union has said publicly the offers fall short in terms of pay and how to handle weekend delivery operations.
Talks have stalled despite Canada Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu's push to break the stalemate with the assistance of federal mediators last week. She asked CUPW to table its response to Canada Post's offers and also called on the parties to negotiate terms for an arbitration process that would conclude talks.
"Arbitration is not the preferred path to an agreement for either side, and each will have priorities it wants recognized," Hajdu said on X. "And for that reason, attempts to negotiate a settlement must continue."
Canada Post and CUPW exchanged proposals Thursday and Friday regarding the terms of binding arbitration. Terms they’re negotiating include what issues could be addressed in the process, the criteria to help guide the arbitrator's decision and the timelines for a final decision, according to the union.
CUPW had been pushing for arbitration even before Hajdu weighed in, saying May 31 it was the only path to "end the ongoing labour dispute fairly and expeditiously." However, the carrier has been against such a measure, arguing the process would likely last more than a year.
"Canada Post entered the discussions last week to try and break through the longstanding impasse," the company told Supply Chain Dive. "The parties did exchange some information on Thursday and Friday through the mediators, but there wasn’t enough to make any progress."
As work remains on both regular contract negotiations and arbitration terms, CUPW is keeping its employee overtime ban that began May 23 in place. Amid the labor disruption, Canada Post shippers have been relying more on other carriers to deliver packages.
