Canada Post and the union are headed back to the bargaining table once again with a mediator.
Postal workers are still on rotating strike action following some controversial service amendments were made by Ottawa to modernize the company.
Local CUPW 812 President, Nicole Chouinard told Vista Radio also touched on Canada Post’s latest move to layoff several management positions as part of its government-mandated restructuring.
“It seems to have become to management heavy in the last few years compared to what it used to be. It seems like a realistic thing that if there are fewer CUPW members than there should be fewer management members.”
“It would be insensitive for me to not care that people are being laid off. Because, as a union that is something we are trying to avoid happening to our members.”
Chouinard added the current job action will remain the same unless they are told otherwise
“The rotating strikes are working for now and that we are as employees of Canada Post have a paycheque and that the public is able to get their product, their mail, their parcels and the rest of that.”
“People are people and they have bills to pay. If you have a job being laid off its not ideal and I am sympathetic to that but in my seven years with the company we have seen a change locally in the ratio of unionized members to management.”
The two parties haven’t met since Canada Post tabled an updated offer on Oct. 3, a package that was voted down by the union’s leadership team.
Since 2018 the corporation has lost more than $5 billion, including over $1 billion last year. Losses this year are expected to reach nearly $1.5 billion.
Letter mail has plunged from 5.5 billion pieces two decades ago to about two billion today, while the company’s share of the parcel market has fallen from 62 per cent in 2019 to less than 24 per cent, the government said.
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