Canadian postal workers give notice to strike Thursday night

Canada looks set to face its first postal strike since 1997 starting at 11.59pm (Eastern Daylight Time) on Thursday June 2nd. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) issued its legally-required 72-hours’ notice of an intention to strike yesterday, aiming to put pressure on Canada Post to accept its final offer for a new four-year collective bargaining agreement up to January 2015.

The union said striking was the “only real bargaining lever” it had with Canada Post, as it continued to seek reward for its members for 16 consecutive years of profitability at the Crown Corporation.

The CUPW’s “final offer” for a contract for its 48,000 urban members, issued yesterday along with the notice to strike, included “several important amendments” to previous offers, the union said. But, the union insisted that the offer “can only be accepted as a whole”, rather than being further revised.

The union is demanding a 3.3% pay rise effective February 2011, compared to Canada Post’s offer of 1.9%. In the following three years, union demands of 2.75% per year are also well above Canada Post’s offer of 1.9%, 1.9% and 2.0%.

CUPW National President Denis Lemelin said his team was willing to bargain “right up to the strike deadline” to achieve a settlement, pointing out that work stoppages can still be avoided.

But he said Canada Post had left the union with “little choice” but to strike.

“After seven months of negotiations, Canada Post continues to demand major concessions, including unsafe work methods, a 22 per cent wage reduction for new hires and the elimination of a sick leave plan that members have had for over 40 years,” said Lemelin.

“Competitive and comprehensive”

Canada Post, which has been negotiating with the union since October, issued a statement yesterday calling the union’s final offer “out of touch”.

The Corporation once again stressed the “significant challenges” it faces in a postal market under threat from electronic communications and a slow economic rebound.

Despite a 17% reduction in lettermail volumes since 2006, and a $3.2bn pension deficit, it said it was nevertheless offering annual wage increases and a defined benefit pension plan for new and existing employees.

Job security, and up to seven weeks’ vacation for those qualifying (up from a maximum of six weeks) , were also in a revised Canada Post offer.

“We have proposed a competitive and comprehensive pay and benefits package for employees hired in the future. The offer put forward for new employees will still make Canada Post an attractive place to work,” said the Corporation.

Canada Post confirmed that in the event of a strike later this week, mail and parcels will not be delivered, but that measures were in effect to ensure the safety of any items that remain in the mail stream during work disruption.

Plans are also in place for Canada Post to return to normal running “as quickly as possible” following work disruption, the Corporation added.

The union and Canada Post have a separate agreement in place for volunteers to distribute social welfare and pension cheques during a strike.