UPDATED: Canadian Union of Postal Workers issues 72-hour notice of job action

Special mediator appointed to meet with CUPW and Canada Post

AUGUSTĀ 25, 2016 – UPDATED AUGUST 26, 2016

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has issued a 72-hour notice of job action hours before its current strike mandate expires at midnight eastern time on Thursday. If Canada Post and CUPWĀ do not arrive at an agreement by Monday, mail and parcel delivery will be disrupted across Canada.

On Wednesday, federal Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk offered toĀ appoint a special mediator to help the two sides negotiate a new collective agreementĀ for 51,000 urban and rural postal workers. It is not clear whether either side will accept a mediator.

CUPW has yet to specify the nature of the job action to be taken. In 2011, the unionĀ held rotating strikes until Canada Post imposed a lockout. The federal government thenĀ passed back-to-work legislation which later deemed unconstitutional.

This is a developing story. More to come.

UPDATE:

Federal Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk has appointed lawyer and author William Kaplan as special mediatorĀ in an effort to end the months-long impasse in negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).

The two sides were scheduled to meet with Kaplan today in hopes of averting job action by over 50,000 urban and rural postal workers.

CUPW has stated that if the job action occurs, it will not be a full work stoppage, but rather, strikes rotating by province and territory.

The job actionĀ willĀ have a particular impact on newspapers and other small businesses that rely onĀ Canada PostĀ for delivery of products as well as bills and other correspondence. Newspapers Canada is monitoring the situation closely and will inform members of any progress in the negotiations, or work disruptions, as soon as the information becomes available.

For the latest news, visit the Canada Post section of the Newspapers CanadaĀ website atĀ https://nmc-mic.ca/canadapost, or any of the following:

If you have any questions or requireĀ assistance, contact your Canada Post account representative or: