Canada Post ‘surprised’ by latest CUPW strike comments

Canada Post said on the weekend that it was surprised by public comments made by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) regarding their strike counter proposal.

“We are currently operating within a confidential process, which was agreed to by both parties. With the movements we’ve made, we would have preferred to hear from CUPW through that process, rather than cause additional concern for our customers and employees,” it said in a public statement.

Despite this the corporation said that it had made “significant moves to close the gap on key issues like weekend delivery, pensions and wages and bring much-needed urgency to the discussions”.

“With the impact of their strike on employees and customers mounting after three weeks, CUPW remains persistent in their demands to represent people outside their bargaining unit, such as making our cleaning staff, and other contracted support services, permanent Canada Post employees,” it added.

The union said it’s reviewing what Canada Post put forward and reaffirmed its commitment to returning to the bargaining table.

As the strike by 55,000 Canada Post employees hits a 25-day mark, calls for government intervention continue to mount from the business community.

So far, the federal government has said it’s not stepping in to order binding arbitration for the workers’ job action.

The government has intervened in other high-profile labour disputes, including the ports and rail strikes, using a controversial section of the law to get the labour board to order binding arbitration.

Locally, a union president says workers are focused on volunteering to help the community, including helping get letters to Santa, food drives and collecting clothes for those experiencing homelessness.

– With files from The Canadian Press.

READ MORE: Canada Post workers’ strike reaches 4th week