The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) strike mandate expires Aug. 25 casting a shadow over negotiations with Canada Post Corporation for a new mail carriers contract.
“Canada Post is trying to wait us out,” said union president Mike Palecek.
The union would have to hold a new strike vote to get another 60-day strike mandate to maintain the balance of power in negotiations, but the cost and logistics of such a vote are prohibitive, said Palecek.
Unless the union has a strike mandate, management has the upper hand to take actions that the union can't respond to, he said.
Talks since July 2 – the period in which CUPW could stage a legal strike and Canada Post Corporation could legally lock out the workers – have not made much progress, spokespersons for both sides said.
The latest spate surrounding the negotiations involves conflicting public comparisons of the pay for rural and suburban mail carriers (RSMCs). There are separate CUPW bargaining units for urban carriers, and for rural and suburban carriers.
Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton said Aug. 13 that some rural carriers make more than urban carriers.
The rural and suburban carriers have good benefits and pensions, Hamilton added in an interview.
Negotiating proposals by Canada Post management would improve that picture, he said.
Not so, said the union in a statement.
RSMCs make on average 28 per cent less than urban carriers, do not get paid for all the hours they work and have no guaranteed hours – and all three factors mean smaller pensions, the union said.
Pay equity is a key issue for the union in a new contract with the corporation.
In this dispute the federal government has said it supports a negotiated settlement and has not imposed binding arbitration to settle the labour dispute.
The Albertan has a contingency plan for delivery of papers in the event of a postal disruption. Distribution in town would not be affected because the Albertan's carriers deliver the papers.
For readers in rural areas outside the town who receive their paper through Canada Post, the Albertan will be increasing the number of copies available store and institutional locals where the paper is normally distributed, where out-of-town readers can pick up their copies.
