No agreement struck after two days of mediated talks between Canada Post, CUPW

“We do want a negotiated contract. We want to go back to work. But the only way that’s going to happen is if Canada Post decides to actually bargain in good faith for once,” says Arseneau.

There are more than 200 postal workers covering Kamloops, Merritt, Cache Creek, Clearwater, Barriere and Chase. Key issues include wage increases, pensions, benefits, and health and safety improvements.

“All these countless restructures to this separate, sort from delivery model makes these routes that are already over 20 kilometres into 30-to-40 kilometres a day that a person has to walk. And it is unsustainable,” notes Arseneau. “Posties are getting ground down. They cannot do this job for their entire career anymore. It is a health and safety disaster. Canada Post is making money but they’re trying to make this narrative that they’re broke.”

Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton says recent discussions have addressed two collective agreements, for rural and suburban mail carriers.

Amid negotiations, Hamilton says they want to find a way to bring in a proposed expansion of parcel delivery service to include weekend delivery. Hamilton says the company feels that’s an avenue that needs to be taken in order to be competitive with other mail and package delivery companies.

“We need to grow this business. And where the growth is in this business is in parcels. People are online shopping. Through the pandemic people developed a habit of online shopping and there’s growth there to be had. But we’re losing out on that business because we don’t have the services that people are looking for,” says Hamilton.

“If we can get that, then we can provide wage increases,” he adds. “You know, two-thirds of our regular employees, part-time and full-time, make over $30 an hour, and we’re offering 11.5 per cent over the next four years, protecting the defined benefit pension and their job security provisions, and other things like that.”

Regardless of whether a deal is struck or not, certain social benefit cheques, such as the Canada Child Benefit, will be delivered this week, but no other mail will be for the duration of the strike. Hamilton says Canada Post parcel volumes declined by 42 per cent last week compared to the same week in the previous year. And so far this week, that number is at zero.

“But the bigger problem is the impact on small businesses, charities that rely on the mail for fundraisers this time of year, to remote and northern communities who rely on Canada Post, 100 per cent,” he adds. “This has huge impacts and we’re hopeful that we can get into an agreement soon so that we can start to rev the engine back up again.”

There was no bargaining contract as of Tuesday afternoon, however both parties are adamant that an agreement needs to be made to limit further impacts.

“I’m hoping Canadians as a whole realize that we do this for Canadians. We want Canada Post to thrive. We want to do this for our entire careers, we want to retire with dignity. We hope that Canadians would reach out to their members of parliament and tell them to support us and not to legislate us back,” reiterates Arseneau.

by Dylana Kneeshaw

No agreement struck after two days of mediated talks between Canada Post, CUPW

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