According to the Canadian Union for Postal Workers (CUPW), the last few days since an overtime ban was implemented have been spent reviewing Canada Post’s latest offers.
During this process, the union says their negotiators prepare responses to the issues they see in the offers and the issues that are important which Canada Post may not have acknowledged.
Sunday, May 25th, marked the third day of the nationwide overtime ban, a strike action implemented last week that prevents members from working more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week.
This action was implemented as an act of protest to push Canada Post to acknowledge and meet their terms on some key issues.
The union says that on Sunday morning, they provided Canada Post negotiators with their responses to the most recent offers. From there, Canada Post will review and form responses of their own.
CUPW says they expect to have a response from the company within the next few days.
The process by which the two parties are communicating and handling negotiations is a standard method called ‘the integrative approach.’
Using this method, neither party meets in-person in order to keep emotion out of the bargaining room.
“Not meeting face-to-face and the mediators moving between the parties is a method used by experienced mediators to remove the opposing personalities and animosity from the interaction,” said CUPW in a media release.
“Documents and ideas exchanged during the integrative approach are confidential and cannot be used against that party at any subsequent arbitration or any other legal proceeding. This privacy allows both parties to talk about issues they may not otherwise entertain.”
In this negotiation’s case, the integrative approach allows both parties to discuss some subjects that may be tough to acknowledge in a negotiation, such as wages, cost of living allowance, sick days, STDP, workers compensation, compensatory time, relief staff, staffing, contracting out, weekend delivery and part-time usage.
Related:
- Canada Post workers’ union issues overtime ban as negotiations continue
- Union rejects Canada Post offers setting stage for another strike action
Since Sunday, Canada Post has received CUPW’s responses and say they will be reviewed in detail.
Canada Post says that swift action is a key component in their approach to this negotiation.
“After almost two years of negotiations, a lengthy national strike and the release of the final report of the Industrial Inquiry Commission, it’s now time for urgency and we will respond in short order,” said the company in a media release.
“The impact of the ongoing uncertainty on our business is significant, but the impact on the Canadian economy is greater.”
Canada Post added that by the end of last week, their delivered parcel volumes were down by 50% year-over-year and continue to drop.
