Photo: File

Negotiations could resume this week on the Canada Post strike after some movement was made towards restarting the conversation and hopefully end the postal service disruption before Christmas.

On Sunday Canada Post presented the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) with a “comprehensive framework for reaching negotiated agreements,” according to a statement from the employers.

The framework includes proposals to bring “greater flexibility to the corporation’s delivery model, while also demonstrating movement on other key issues,” said Canada Post media relations Phil Legault.

“It is our hope that these proposals will reignite discussions and, together with the support of mediators, help the parties work toward final agreements,” he said.

The nation’s postal service workers are still on strike in Nelson and across the country as the busy Black Friday online shopping week came and went with no participation from the national postal service.

“We understand the impact CUPW’s national strike is having on our employees and so many Canadians,” said Legault. “Canada Post remains committed to negotiating new collective agreements that will provide our employees and customers with the certainty they are looking for.”

Now into the third week of the strike, CUPW’s national strike — which also affects Nelson and other regional post offices — continues despite talks between Canada Post and its union workers taking place over the weekend, albeit with limited progress.

The company said in a statement that it is trying to move forward with changes to its delivery model that would provide weekend delivery and more flexible staffing during the week.

“Canada Post’s proposals to offer seven-day-a-week parcel delivery and other important improvements are crucial to the company’s future, as it would allow us to grow our parcel business,” the statement read.

The union counters with other issues, including hiring the people who work for contracted facility cleaning services and making them full-time.

Right now the outlet in Nelson is not accepting packages for processing and shipment for the duration of the strike, but it is continuing to deliver government benefit cheques — Old Age Security, the Canada Child Benefit and Canada Pension Plan — during the labour disruption.

On the small business end of the equation, it is estimated that up to 80 per cent of small businesses use Canada Post to move goods, or for invoicing and payments.

FedEx and Amazon deliveries aren’t affected by the strike, while Purolator — a subsidiary of Canada Post — might be affected, its workers’ union suggesting as an act of solidarity it won’t handle any mail originating from Canada Post.

The 55,000 workers represented by CUPW went on strike Nov. 15 after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with Canada Post.

“After a year of bargaining with little progress, postal workers made the difficult decision to strike,” a release from CUPW noted. “Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day. Instead, Canada Post left us no choice when it threatened to change our working conditions and leave our members exposed to layoffs.”

As a result, mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike — in Nelson and across Canada — and some post offices will be closed. No new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over.

A full 12 months into negotiations, Canada Post’s last contract offer called for wage increases of 11.5 per cent over four years, protection of defined-benefit pensions for current employees, and improvements to job security and health coverage. That proposal has been rejected by the union.