A small rally in Rossland on Thursday last week was joined by similar gatherings across the as members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) remained locked out by Canada Post.
On Tuesday last week, Canada Post announced they would be locking out the 48,000 unionized workers in an attempt to force a timely resolution to the labour dispute. The CUPW began rotating strikes across the country on June 2.
“This was one of the toughest decision I've ever made,” Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra said in a video message to employees posted online on Thursday. “I'm painfully aware of the hardship it will cause our employees. They all have families to feed and bills to pay. I sincerely regret this hardship.”
“While the action may seem harsh,” he added, “we did it intending to bring the issue to a head. The alternative may have been another two or three weeks of rotating strikes followed by a full strike. Neither you nor Canada Post could afford that.”
Chopra met with CUPW national president Denis Lemelin on Friday but their discussions failed to yield an agreement.
“Mr. Chopra has a major decision to make during the next few days,” Lemelin said in a statement. “It is clear that the parties are still far apart because of (Canada Post's) demands for concessions and their refusal to address the proposals of the union on issues such as health and safety, staffing and service expansion.”
“If Canada Post management has the will,” Lemelin added, “there is still a way to negotiate an agreement. The parties are both completely aware of the issues.”
Talks between Canada Post and the CUPW continued this week, stretching late into the night on Tuesday. The two sides returned to the bargaining table Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, the federal government introduced back-to-work legislation in Parliament on Tuesday which included wage provisions which are slighlty lower than those put forward by Canada Post in its latest offer to employees.
The move was blasted by Opposition Leader Jack Layton, who said the proposed bill sends the message that if workers don’t accept the terms of an offer, they can expect the government to step in and impose terms that are even less favourable.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the legislation as fair and “in the best interest of the Canadian economy.”
The bill calls for wage increases of 1.75 per cent in the first year, 1.5 per cent in the second year, and 2 per cent each in the final two years. Canada Post’s last rejected offer included increases of 1.9 per cent in each of the first three years, and then two per cent in the final year.
Meanwhile, local postal workers said they will ensure that federal pension cheques are delivered on time despite the lockout.
“Our national union negotiated an agreement, that in the event of a strike or lockout, volunteers from our union would be allowed to deliver these important cheques,” said Peter Hawkins, president of the CUPW Castlegar local.