Canada Post, the primary postal service provider in Canada, has alerted its workers through a 72-hour notice that there may be a lockout by Friday.
Canada Post provided a warning as to the potential lockout just days after having announced its “final” offer on June 25, to which the worker’s labor union, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), proposed a counteroffer.
The counteroffer by the CUPW was deemed “not affordable” by Canada Post— they claimed that it would add $1 billion in costs over the course of the contract.
The fact that a strike on the part of their workers has been proposed and demand for postal services has decreased have hurt Canada Post’s ability to meet workers’ demands, according to the postal provider.
As for lost customers, it is believed that large e-commerce companies have stopped using Canada Post in large part.
The inability to reach an agreement by Friday would not necessarily mean that mail would not be delivered, but the carrier would likely “take measures that are necessary to respond to the changing business reality.”
The CUPW claims that the lockout notice threatens to drive 50,000 workers “out onto the streets without pay in an effort to impose steep concessions on them.”
The two main issues that the CUPW wants addressed are in regards to pensions and a wage gap.
Canada Post is looking to switch new hires from a defined benefits plan that guarantees a fixed benefit to a defined contribution plan, which does not guarantee payouts.
Also, it has been claimed by the union that rural and suburban mail carriers make 28 percent less in pay than their urban counterparts.
To provide comfort to those eligible, it has been announced that regardless of whether a work stoppage occurs, welfare and Social Security checks will continue to be delivered.
