Canada Post Union Ends Overtime Ban, Halts Flyer Deliveries in Policy Shift

The union representing Canadian postal workers is moving to end a ban on overtime work and will instead have members stop delivering commercial flyers.

 

Canadian Union of Postal Workers president Jan Simpson urged Canada Post on Friday to return to bargaining as she announced the commercial flyer ban would come into effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. local time.

 

“Canada Post needs to get back to the table, and we want to do our best to have the least impact on the Canadian public,” she said at a press conference in Ottawa.

 

Ms. Simpson said the move away from an overtime ban came as the postal service has raised concerns about its impact on operations. She said she hopes the change will help secure a deal before the lucrative holiday rush.

 

“Our goal is to get collective agreements that are ratifiable before Christmastime,” she said.

 

Canada Post spokeswoman Ariane Sauvé said the postal service was disappointed with the union’s decision to end flyer delivery, which will affect both Canadian businesses that use the service and Canada Post’s finances.

 

“This latest strike activity will only increase the uncertainty that is having a major impact on the business,” she said.

 

Ms. Sauvé said the gap between the two sides remains “substantial” after the union’s latest proposal maintained or hardened its positions on many items.

 

“We encourage CUPW to come back with workable solutions that reflect our current reality and get the parties closer to a resolution.”

 

The union banned overtime work in late May as a pressure tactic in the negotiations that now have dragged on for more than a year and a half.

 

Union members voted down Canada Post’s last offer a little over a month ago. The union has since put forward a proposal that called for higher wages but made some allowances for part-time workers.

 

The postal service has yet to respond formally to those proposals but has asked the union to align its expectations with Canada Post’s dire financial realities.

 

The Crown corporation says it’s bleeding millions of dollars a day as uncertainty around labour negotiations hurts its business.

 

Canada Post reported a loss before tax of $407-million in its second quarter, compared with a profit in the same quarter a year before, in a shift it blamed on labour uncertainty.

 

Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly said there was nothing good in the latest union action as about 20 per cent of members use Canada Post for flyers as a low-cost advertising option.

 

“This is bad news, but even more than the loss of flyers, this inches us closer to an overall strike or lockout, and we are very close to the critical holiday season once again.”

 

A strike and lockout lasted more than a month in November and December last fall, ending only after then-labour minister Steven MacKinnon declared an impasse in the talks and asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order an end to the work stoppage.

 

 

 

 

 

This article was first reported by The Canadian Press