Postal strike needs 'cooling'

Photo: The Canadian Press

Idle Canada Post trucks sit in the parking lot of the Saint-Laurent sorting facility in Montreal as rotating strikes hit the area on Thursday November 15, 2018.

UPDATE 6:41 a.m.

Canada Post proposed a "cooling off" period with its striking postal workers Monday as pressure mounts to resolve the ongoing labour dispute ahead of the busy Christmas delivery season.

In a statement, the Crown corporation agreed with a proposal from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to bring another mediator into the ongoing contract dispute — but with a catch.

It said it wants CUPW members to put down their picket signs until the end of January while talks are on, and offered a special payment of up to $1,000 for each member if there is no labour disruption before the so-called cooling off period ends.

"With the rotating strikes, resulting backlogs, and the massive Black Friday and cyber Monday volumes that will arrive within days, we are trying everything we can to work together with the union — urgently — to deliver the holidays to Canadians," Jessica McDonald, chair of the board of directors and interim president and CEO of Canada Post, said in the statement.

"This proposal also includes a way for the parties to resolve their differences and these negotiations."

It wasn't immediately clear if the union would agree to the offer, which came with a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday.

Canada Post said it would start talks "with a jointly-agreed, government-appointed mediator," while reinstating both collective agreements with CUPW during the cooling off period.

ORIGINAL 5:26 a.m.

Canada Post workers were continuing their rotating strikes today after rejecting the Crown corporation's latest offer and asking that a mediator be appointed to help end the ongoing labour dispute.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says they have pickets in several locations, including Edmonton, Kitchener, Ont., and Kelowna, B.C., following a request late Saturday to bring in a third party.

It came after the union let pass a time-sensitive proposal from Canada Post meant to stop strikes affecting about 42,000 urban employees and 8,000 rural and suburban carriers.

A spokeswoman for Labour Minister Patty Hajdu wouldn't say whether Ottawa would oblige the request for a mediator, but indicated it was a good sign that both sides remain committed to finding a solution.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a last-minute plea to the two sides late Saturday to resolve their differences, just hours before the midnight deadline on the Crown corporation's offers expired.

The strikes have created a huge backlog of undelivered mail, prompting some businesses to issue pleas for a resolution ahead of the busy Christmas shopping season.

The Retail Council of Canada urged Ottawa to "bring an immediate end" to the rotating strikes through back-to-work legislation.

Last week, eBay also called on the government to legislate an end to the dispute in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events tied to the American Thanksgiving.