Canada Post agrees to 30-day truce for talks without strike or lockout
Posted Jul 8, 2016 06:32:04 AM.
Last Updated Jul 8, 2016 01:07:09 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Canada Post has agreed to the union’s call for a 30-day truce to allow the two sides to negotiate a new contract without a strike or lockout.
The postal service had given notice that it will lock out the unionized employees starting Monday if there’s no deal.
Canada Post’s agreement to a cooling off period, as long as there is binding arbitration, should talks fail.
But the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says a cooling off period would keep the mail moving under the old contract while “intensive negotiations” continue.
As recently as Thursday, the two sides appeared to be far apart on several major issues after seven months of negotiations.
Canada Post had initially said it would lock out the 50,000 unionized employees today but later extended the deadline to Monday at 12:01 a.m. ET.
CUPW said it filed a formal complaint Wednesday alleging that Canada Post has refused to negotiate fairly but says it would withdraw that if the company agrees to the 30-day extension.
