As a potential strike of Canada Post workers looms, the Crown corporation says it its “operating as normal” while negotiations with the union continue.
If a strike does go ahead, at least one opposition party has said it will not support back-to-work legislation.
Postal workers will legally be in a strike position as of Sunday, but a 72-hour notice is required under the Canada Labour Code before employees can walk off the job.
“Both parties remain at the table and we have not received a notice of strike from the union,” said Valérie Chartrand, a Canada Post spokesperson.
“If we receive a strike notice, we will be notifying customers and the public of our plans regarding service,” she told Global News in a statement Friday.
On Tuesday, Canada Post presented new offers to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, including higher annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over four years and protections to workers’ pensions.
CUPW’s national president Jan Simpson, told Global News on Thursday that the union is reviewing that offer and will be responding to Canada Post.
“We’re still at the bargaining table hopeful to be able to get a negotiated collective agreement for both the urban operations and the rural suburban mail carriers,” she said.
A cooling-off period in the labour negotiations will expire on Saturday after which postal workers will legally be in a position to strike.
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The dispute comes ahead of the busy holiday season, and Canada Post has warned that a labour disruption would have “significant consequences” for millions of Canadians.
The federal government has urged both parties to reach a collective agreement and is working to facilitate that outcome.
Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon met with Canada Post and CUPW on Thursday.
He told reporters on Wednesday: “We’re obviously active in trying to facilitate a collective agreement and we want the two parties to agree and for that agreement to be ratified.”
MacKinnon did not say if the federal government would intervene.
If a strike goes ahead, it’s not clear if the Liberal minority government will be able to impose a back-to-work legislation as it did with the railway shutdown in August.
The New Democratic Party, for one, will not support it.
“There is not a scenario where we’ll be supporting back-to-work legislation,” said Matthew Green, NDP’s labour critic.
“It’s incumbent on the labour minister to not use the threat of legislating Canada Post back to work to basically take management off the hook from negotiating a fair deal with these workers,” Green said in an interview with Global News on Friday.
He said that all options need to be explored and that the “best deals” are reached at the bargaining table.
“Anytime there is the thought that management can just rely on a weak Liberal government to intervene on their behalf, it completely undermines the working class in Canada.”
Global News has also reached out to the Conservatives, the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party for their positions on back-to-work legislation in the event of a Canada Post strike, but no responses have been received.
The labour dispute comes as Canada Post is struggling to stay afloat amid financial losses.
Canada Post says it recorded $490 million is losses from operations in the first half of the year and since 2018, it has lost more than $3 billion.
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