Canada Post, union to meet mediator Monday in effort to end strike

Canada Post temporarily lays off some employees Canadian Union of Postal Workers negotiator Jim Gallant discusses what the union is calling an intimidation tactic by Canada Post.

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are meeting with a special mediator for the first time Monday to continue talks as they enter the fourth day of a national strike.

The union announced the strike after it and the Crown corporation failed to reach a deal by the deadline Friday. Mail and parcels, except for certain benefit cheques, are not being processed during the work stoppage and some post offices are closed.

Both parties said Monday that they remain "far apart" on issues but are working to reach a negotiated agreement.

The federal minister of labour appointed a new special mediator as CUPW said it's fighting for fair wages, safer working conditions, the right to retire with dignity and expanded services to strengthen the public post office.

Rather than an imposed arbitration, in which an independent third party makes the decision to end the dispute, both parties said they prefer to settle through a mediator.

"We remain committed to reaching new agreements at the bargaining table, and not through arbitration," Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu said in an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca on Monday, noting discussions are continuing.

Yannick Scott, French spokesperson for CUPW, listed an example with the recent rail strike and lockout, when Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon directed the federal labour board to impose binding arbitration to order workers from Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City back to work in August after their contract dispute closed Canada's two major railways.

"I think parties want to avoid that path as much as possible if they want something settled in the way both parties want," he said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Monday. "We're looking forward to work with the new mediator. ... We think that is probably going to help both parties to reach a settled collective agreement rather than an imposed one."

Canada Post says CUPW's national strike had a "significant impact" on the Crown corporation as it loses business to its competitors. It said its parcel volumes dropped by 42 per cent last week, compared to the same week last year.

"With no new parcel volumes in the system over the four days of the national strike, this situation will only worsen," Liu said.

Even despite its mounting financial difficulties, Canada Post said it is proposing offers "that protect and enhance what's important to our current employees." The company offered competitive wage hikes of 11.5 per cent over four years and additional paid leave, while protecting defined benefit pension and job security provisions, Liu said.

With files from The Canadian Press