As pressure mounts over the future of its operations, Canada Post has presented its “final offers” to the union representing 55,000 workers, amid an ongoing overtime ban and mounting financial losses.
The proposals, tabled Wednesday during resumed negotiations, include:
- Eliminating compulsory overtime
- A $1,000 signing bonus for urban employees and $500 for rural/suburban workers
- Cost-of-living adjustments that trigger sooner with inflation
- Continuation of a 14% wage increase spread over four years
- The introduction of part-time weekend delivery positions
- A rollout of “dynamic routing” at 10 facilities, allowing mail carriers’ routes to shift daily based on parcel volume
The plans mark a significant shift in Canada Post’s operating model, which has been under strain from declining letter mail and a 65% drop in parcel volumes year-over-year, due in part to labour disruptions and a one-month strike last fall.
Postal Service at a Crossroads
In a report released May 15, federally appointed commissioner William Kaplan called Canada Post “effectively insolvent” and urged both the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to modernize rapidly.
“The world has changed, and both Canada Post and CUPW must evolve and adapt,” Kaplan wrote. “Merely tinkering with the status quo is not an option.”
Canada Post has accumulated over $4 billion in losses since 2018, kept afloat only by a $1 billion federal loan earlier this year.
Mixed Reactions from Workers and Experts
Lorraine Muller, a former letter carrier turned mail sorter in Montreal, said workers feel they’ve been “getting a bad deal” for years.
“Many of us have a deep, deep sense of public service and public good,” she said. “But stop driving away customers.”
Muller and others have floated ideas like postal banking, already implemented in countries like France and the Czech Republic, to bring new life — and revenue — to Canada Post.
Meanwhile, labour experts caution that part-time weekend delivery jobs could lead to friction within the workforce.
“There’s a risk that full-time workers will see their hours cut,” said Stephanie Ross, associate professor at McMaster University. “But some temp workers may welcome stable part-time positions with benefits.”
Canada Post’s final offer comes at a pivotal moment, as union members consider their next steps and e-commerce companies increasingly shift their business to private couriers.