Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and Canada Post have agreed to extend the union's 72-hour notice in an attempt to reach an agreement.
The 24-hour extension means there will be no job action taken by union members until Tuesday morning, Aug. 30. Urban mail workers will begin refusing overtime on Aug. 30 in Alberta and the Northwest Territories if no deal is reached.
“It's always been our position to keep the mail going,” said Barb Lilly, president of CUPW Local 818 in Red Deer. “There's a lot of people that still get pension cheques, family allowance and social support cheques through the mail and we don't want to hold up anything.”
Union members are hoping for minimal impact, although Canadians could see a delay in receiving mail as a result of the job action.
“If people refuse to do the extra work or the overtime, there might be some mail that's left behind at the end of the day,” said Lilly. “We want (Canada Post) to hire staff and not do cutbacks.”
The extension comes after a mediator was appointed by the government late last week. Talks continued over the weekend but with little progress, she noted.
“Negotiations, I understand, didn't go very well over the weekend,” explained Lilly. “But both sides had agreed that they would do this extension in good faith to try and get some things resolved.”
The rotating job action will move from province to province on a daily basis, Lilly added, noting it's the union's position to negotiate a fair contract.
“We're trying every step we can to avoid any kind of action.”
In response to the minimal rotating job action, Canada Post said it will cut off maternity and adoption leave, as well as insurance and other benefits. It will also cancel workers' vacations.
They are trying to remain hopeful for an agreement said Lilly, although time is ticking and there appears to be no immediate end to the situation.
“Our hopes are (somewhat) dashed because it's been like a roller-coaster: up and down, up and down,” said Lilly, referring to the 72-hour notice. “We don't want to go the strike route, but at this point we're willing to because this has to end. We have to show Canada Post that we're not going to sacrifice new employees rights just to sign a contract.”
Barb Lilly, president of Local 818
"We're trying every step we can to avoid any kind of action."
