Canada Post strike enters new week as talks continue with special mediator

The Canada Post strike is now on its 11th day.

Talks continued over the weekend between the union representing more than 55,000 postal workers and their employer, with the help of a special mediator. In a statement, Canada Post says progress has been limited.

“We’ve been trying to move forward with urgency on changes to our delivery model that would provide weekend delivery and more flexible staffing during the week,” the statement read.

“The union has been focused for the last 24 hours on workers they don’t represent – like hiring away the cleaning staff from our contracted cleaning service and making them full-time Canada Post employees and pushing back on any changes to the pay and benefits of people we’ll hire in the future.”

Canada Post has offered wage increases totalling 11.5 per cent over four years and additional paid leave, but the union has called for a cumulative wage hike of 24 per cent over four years. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) also wants full-time employees to deliver package shipments on weekends, while Canada Post has offered to hire more part-time staff.

Canada Post said Saturday that customers have been forced to turn to competitors for their deliveries amid a work stoppage that began on Nov. 15 when more than 55,000 workers across the country walked off the job.

CUPW said some mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered during the national strike, and some post offices will be closed. 

With files from The Canadian Press