Canada Post services to continue with possible delays as union initiates overtime ban

The union representing approximately 55,000 Canada Post employees has called for an overtime ban as negotiators review the latest offers from the company.

The overtime ban means that workers are being told to refuse any work beyond eight hours a day and 40 hours per week. This is considered legal strike action, but no rotating strikes or work stoppage is taking place yet.

For now, Canadians can still expect to receive their mail and packages, but Canada Post is warning about possible delays.

The Canada’s Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) told CHCH News it is preparing a new counter offer for Canada Post, which would keep negotiations alive after the two sides avoided a full-scale strike.

Union representatives were looking for Canada Post to agree to a two-week “truce” to continue negotiations, but they said the company has refused.

To minimize disruption to the public and lost days to workers, they opted for the overtime ban rather than a complete shutdown.

The decision came after the two sides failed to reach a deal during a last-minute meeting yesterday. Canada Post says the meeting lasted less than a half hour.

“We’re still at work, that’s a really important thing, because we didn’t want to cause any disruptions,” said Tracey Langille, president of CUPW Local 548. “We did impose a small strike action of an overtime ban – we felt that was the least amount of impact to the public, as I mentioned and to our members, but still protecting our right to strike if needed to protect the members.”

On Wednesday, the company presented new global offers – including a wage increase of over 13 per cent over four years. The union says the offer fell short, as they are looking for a 19 per cent wage hike to keep up with inflation.

It’s still unclear how strike action could escalate, but Canada Post says they will keep the public updated.

“Canada Post continues to operate today, but we’re operating on fumes, essentially,” said Jon Hamilton, the vice-president of communications and stakeholder engagement at the Canada Post.

A labour studies professor from Brock University said there’s a bigger issue to deal with: how the post office can adapt to a changing economy where it’s losing money.

“It’s important to emphasize that this particular of bargaining is really just a battle in a much larger war about the future of Canada Post and it’s mandate,” said Larry Savage, a professor at Brock University. “There is a question about whether Canada Post should be expected to turn a profit, after all it is a public service. We don’t expect schools or prisons to operate on a for-profit basis, so why is Canada Post being held to a different standard?”

Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said it will be watching to see if the overtime ban is enough to hurt small businesses.

“If a package is delayed, or consumers don’t get their goods within a certain amount of time, under provincial legislation, consumers are then in their right to request a refund,” said Christina Santini, the director of national affairs at the CFIB. “This will cause burden and financial repercussions and reputational repercussions on business owners.”

Both sides of the dispute say that they’re struggling with the uncertainty.

READ MORE: Canada Post makes new offers to workers ahead of strike deadline