No Canada Post lockout, but strike could occur July 6 as talks continue

Yorkregion.com
July 3, 2016
By Jeremy Grimaldi

A Canada Post lockout has been averted for the time being as tenuous talks on a new contract continue.

"Our members are prepared to report to work Monday," said Derek Richmond, Ontario Region Coordinator for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

Both sides continue to negotiate and hopes are that a result can be worked out without having to resort to a labour disruption as was feared last week, he said.

The main sticking point remains employee pensions and the union has presented Canada Post with new offers and no strike will occur until Wednesday at the earliest.

The offer includes wage hikes and rejects Canada Post's plans to run the pension plan like an RRSP, otherwise known as a defined contribution plan, according to media reports
Canada Post has been negotiating with the union since last year, but slow progress prompted the Crown corporation to seek a conciliator in April.

However nothing came of the 60-day mediation and either side could have invoked the 72-hour notice to strike or lock-out.

Despite this the union says it's preparing itself for the worst, their megaphones on standby.

“We want equality for our rural carriers and our urban carriers," he told the Aurora Banner last week. "They do the same job, but the rural carriers get paid a lot less. Our rural carriers are predominantly immigrant workers and females and we feel they should be paid the same as the urban carriers."

50,000 members were legislated back to work the last time work action flared up in 2011.