STATEMENT: With CUPW's national strike now in its fourth week, the union's latest offer takes major steps backwards

Union's demands reinforce the status quo and add significant, unsustainable long-term fixed costs

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 9, 2024 /CNW/ - Canada Post has received the latest offers from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and is extremely disappointed that their intent appears to be to widen the gap in negotiations, rather than close it.

We are conducting a full review of the offers for the Urban and RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) bargaining units and will share more information as soon as possible. However, we don't want to provide false hope to impacted employees, small businesses, charities and northern communities that were hoping for a speedy resolution. In the last few weeks, Canada Post has made several important moves to close the gap and reach negotiated agreements, but the union has reverted to their previous positions or increased their demands. 

Our core business is delivery. While postal services around the world are working constructively to evolve their delivery approach to respond to changing customer needs, CUPW's demands reinforce the status quo and add significant and unsustainable long-term fixed costs. One example is continuing to demand the contracting in of all services, making our facility cleaning staff and other contracted support services permanent Canada Post employees.  

Our deteriorating financial situation

Canada Post is at a critical juncture in its history. With financial pressures mounting and now accelerating with CUPW's ongoing strike, our long-standing role as a vital, publicly owned national infrastructure for Canadians and Canadian businesses is under significant threat.

Canada Post will record another significant loss in 2024, the seventh consecutive annual loss for the Corporation. Since 2018, Canada Post has lost more than $3 billion.

A fair approach focused on our future

Our approach throughout negotiations has been fair, balanced and straightforward, bringing much-needed flexibility to our delivery model to improve service for Canadians and grow our parcel business, while protecting and valuing the people who provide that service.

While the specifics of what we've offered remain in the confidential process, our focus has remained on the following:

Focused on the needs of our customers:

• Changes to our mail-based delivery model that would allow for affordable and reliable weekend delivery and other improvements.
• Maintaining our largely full-time delivery workforce while creating weekend part-time positions – providing benefits, guaranteed hours and opportunities for temporary employees.

Focused on providing good jobs for our people, building on what they already have:
(further details in attached backgrounder)

• Wage increases above our previous offers.
  • Approximately 70 per cent of current employees are at the maximum current salary range, making more than $30 per hour, plus overtime and cost-of-living allowance payments.
• Providing good pensions for retirement.
• Maintaining up to seven weeks of vacation and 13 personal days.
• Maintaining stringent job security provisions.

BACKGROUND: The attached backgrounder includes the wages and benefits within the most recent urban collective agreement

SOURCE Canada Post

For more information: Media Relations, 613-734-8888, [email protected]