News releases

The uncertainty caused by eight months of labour negotiations and 11 days of strike activities by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is damaging the postal system. This will only end when a new collective agreement is reached.

The union's offer to "suspend" rotating strikes does not provide customer certainty. All the issues will still remain unresolved and the union will continue to hold their right to strike as a threat to Canadians. Our customers need certainty that the postal system will be functional and reliable.

The Union is not serious about negotiating a new agreement. They continue to have over 50 demands on the table, and want to turn back the clock on modernizing equipment and processes. Canada Post has made major concessions during this round of bargaining, including:

• Moved from offering a Defined Contribution pension plan for new hires and instead agreed to maintain a fully indexed Defined Benefit pension plan.
• Dropped a proposal to eliminate a seventh week of vacation.
• Agreed to maintain the current ratio of full-time employees across the network.

But the leadership of CUPW has shown no interest in working with Canada Post to address declining mail volumes, a $3.2-billion solvency deficit in the pension, or the uncompetitive cost structure that is preventing the company from effectively competing in e-commerce.

Canada Post believes that the best result from this round of bargaining would be a negotiated settlement. However the damage being done to the postal system by the union's ongoing strike activities is making it difficult for the company to maintain all of our previously offered compromises.

The company has a fair offer on the table—one that protects existing employees and provides a number of improvements including a competitive wage increase. Canada Post strongly urges the union to accept its offer. It is important that we move forward and secure the future of the postal system—for employees and customers.