The union of striking Canada Post workers will meet Wednesday with the federal minister they blame for the work stoppage and for souring the current round of contract negotiations.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) launched a national strike nearly two weeks ago after Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound, who oversees Canada Post, announced changes to the Crown corporation’s business that would see reduced mail delivery, post office closures and the phase-out of door-to-door service.
Lightbound was previously scheduled to meet with union leadership a day before his announcement, but the talks were postponed.
CUPW national president Jan Simpson said in a statement Tuesday that Wednesday’s meeting will focus on Lightbound’s announced changes — which the union will demand he “publicly rescind” — as well as Canada Post’s latest contract offers.
“This will be our first in person meeting with the minister in charge of Canada Post,” Simpson said in the statement. “It is far too late in the process for this to happen, but that has been the minister’s call. Now that we are all on the street he has asked to talk to us.
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“While we want the meeting with the minister, there’s no secret about our position: the government’s decision to announce its plans to gut the public post office and slash thousands of good jobs is the wrong approach and will make everything worse for Canadians, the public service, and bargaining.”
A spokesperson for Lightbound said Ottawa wants to see Canada Post “modernize and transform so it can keep serving Canadians for years to come,” and urged the two sides to “find a path forward at the bargaining table.”
“Canada Post is part of the fabric of our country — but it’s facing an existential crisis,” spokesperson Laurent de Casanove said in an email. “Losing $10 million every day isn’t sustainable, and Canadians can’t keep paying that price.”
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Canada Post’s latest offer ‘worse’ than before: union
CUPW on Monday said Lightbound’s announced changes to Canada Post is the latest example in a “downward spiral of government intervention” that has “completely ruined” the prospect of securing a contract in the current negotiations.
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It said the changes gave the company “permission” to present new offers last week that the union says are “worse” than the ones tabled and rejected by workers earlier this year.
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That rejection followed a week-long vote held by the Canada Labour Relations Board at the request of the Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu. Last year, the government also stepped in to end a month-long strike by postal workers.
“Repeated government interventions in our dispute have completely ruined this round of negotiations,” Simpson said Monday. “Every time the government has stepped in, it has only made reaching new collective agreements that much harder. With every intervention, the government has pushed the parties farther apart.”
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A spokesperson for Hajdu said Tuesday the government “has provided a range of tools and resources to support their negotiation process” since CUPW requested federal mediation last summer, adding the minister and past labour ministers have repeatedly met with both sides throughout the process.
“CUPW and Canada Post have a responsibility to find common ground that protects good jobs and secures the future of Canada’s national postal service. Canadians are counting on them,” Hajdu’s press secretary Jennifer Kozelj said.
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Canada Post’s latest offers ‘worse’ than before, union says
The current strike has halted mail delivery across the country and caused anxiety for small businesses ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.
Negotiations for a new contract first began in November 2023.
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Canada Post says its latest offers reflect the government’s changes “while balancing its financial realities with fairness and respect for employees.”
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Canada Post presents new offers to union in bid to end postal strike
The offers would remove a provision in the collective agreement that, along with the federal moratorium the government has now lifted, has prevented Canada Post from closing up to 493 post offices in areas once considered rural.
The company and the government both argue that those areas have since grown to become suburban or urban, making it unnecessary for them to be served by individual post offices.
CUPW, as well as the federal New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois, argue the closures will gut mail service to rural, remote and Indigenous communities, which Canada Post says it is committed to protecting.
Canada Post also proposes a new “transparent workforce adjustment process” that includes payment-based “departure incentives” in order to reduce staffing. It has promised that most workforce reductions will be achieved through attrition as employees retire in the next few years.
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The union says the changes mean Canada Post management will have “sole discretion” to determine how many incentives are offered before proceeding with layoffs.
The company has reported more than $5 billion in losses since 2018 and says it is on track to lose $1.5 billion this year alone. The federal government loaned the company $1 billion earlier this year to keep it afloat.
A signing bonus for all employees that was offered in May was also removed in last week’s offers.
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