Canadian Postal Workers Face Crucial Decision on Contract Proposal

According to a recent report from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the union has been instructed to hold a vote regarding Canada Post’s (CP) final contract proposal. This comes after 18 months of challenging negotiations between both parties.

On June 12, Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Jobs and Families, urged the union to expedite the voting process on CP’s offer. The proposed contract features a wage increase of 6% in the first year, followed by 3% in the second year and an additional 2% for each of the third and fourth years.It also guarantees part-time employees at least 15 hours per week, offers full-time workers a $1,000 signing bonus, and eliminates mandatory overtime.

While CP welcomed Hajdu’s directive as a chance for workers to express their opinions during collective bargaining,CUPW criticized this move as “another attack on our bargaining rights.” They pointed out that just last December,they were compelled by the government to end a lengthy strike that lasted over a month.

“The government’s interference hasn’t moved us closer to resolving this issue,” stated Jan simpson, national president of CUPW. “In fact, it feels like we’re being pushed further away from an agreement.”

In another statement released on June 13th, CUPW encouraged its members to reject CP’s proposal. They argued that while there are wage increases included in this deal, they fall short of what is necessary and grant excessive authority to supervisors regarding work assignments and overtime opportunities.

The situation escalated when CUPW implemented a national ban on overtime starting May 23rd—just days after CP withdrew from negotiations. At that time, CP claimed there was little room for progress due to union demands; though, CUPW countered by saying that CP had failed to acknowledge its financial challenges.Since 2018, Canada Post has reported annual losses consistently and was projected to exhaust its cash reserves by mid-2025 until receiving meaningful federal support amounting to $1 billion earlier this year.