Canada Post hits pause on negotiations with union as May deadline nears

Post negotiations on pause

Photo: The Canadian Press

A Canada Post employee drives a mail truck at a delivery depot in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada Post says it's pressing pause on negotiations with the union representing postal workers with a little over a week before the deadline to get a deal.

The Crown corporation says the past few days of negotiations with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have been fruitless, and this temporary pause will allow the postal service to come back to the table with "comprehensive proposals" that it hopes can move discussions forward.

The union calls the pause "reprehensible," in part because there's no clear date for when these new proposals will arrive.

Ottawa asked the federal labour board to send workers back to the job in December when talks were at an impasse and a strike was disrupting holiday mail deliveries.

That reprieve expires on May 22, at which point a labour dispute could again grind Canadians' mail service to a halt.

Canada Post says any proposals will reflect the significant financial challenges that put the postal service's future in jeopardy.