By Craig Lord
Canada Post has issued a new set of offers to the union representing postal workers as the clock ticks down to a possible strike.
The Crown corporation confirmed Wednesday it has filed a new set of proposals for workers in the urban bargaining unit and the rural and suburban units.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said its negotiating team was set to examine the proposals this afternoon.
The new offers come days after the union issued a strike notice that could see postal workers back on the picket line on Friday.
A bulletin from CUPW president Jan Simpson issued shortly after noon said the union will review the offers to ensure they align with the needs of its 55,000 members.
Canada Post said it has enhanced its wage offer for workers, with a gain of six per cent in year one, three per cent in year two and two per cent in years three and four, for a compounded increase of 13.59 per cent.
The proposal would come with six additional personal days on the calendar and better income replacement for short-term disability leave, the Crown corporation said.
Canada Post said it is also no longer proposing a new health benefits plan, changes to employees’ post-retirement benefits or enrolling future employees in the defined-contribution pension.
One sticking point addressed in Canada Post’s latest round of offers is the prospect of adding a corps of part-time workers that would allow for seven-day-a-week delivery.
Canada Post said in its new offers that it would provide health and pension benefits and schedule guaranteed hours for part-time workers.
It also would roll out an “initial, limited implementation” of dynamic routing — a move that would allow Canada Post to change routes daily to make more efficient use of workers’ time.
The union accused Canada Post of walking away from the table after the Crown corporation paused negotiations last week.
That pause came before the release of a federally commissioned report on the viability of Canada Post’s flagging business model in the context of labour negotiations.
Commissioner William Kaplan, who led the inquiry that drafted the 162-page report, wrote in it that Canada Post faces an “existential crisis.” He recommended phasing out daily door-to-door mail delivery, among other structural changes to the postal service.
Canada Post has warned of delays in mail deliveries if the union resumes its strike, which was interrupted over the holiday season when the federal government intervened in the labour dispute.
— with files from Christopher Reynolds in Montreal
