The federal labour minister pressed Canada Post and its workers’ union to urgently find a solution that will end a nearly-two-week nationwide strike after mediated talks were temporarily suspended Wednesday.
“The minister told both parties (the union and Canada Post) he expects more, and he expects results,” a spokesperson for Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon’s office told Global News in an emailed statement, after MacKinnon met with representatives from both sides of the dispute.
“Hopefully the two parties will reflect on that and come back to the negotiating table with a greater sense of urgency.”
MacKinnon announced earlier Wednesday that the special mediator appointed by the federal government had “decided to temporarily suspend mediation” between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
“After several intensive days of negotiation, his assessment is that parties remain too far apart on critical issues for mediation to be successful at this time,” the minister said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This pause in mediation activities will hopefully permit the parties to reassess their positions and return to the bargaining table with renewed resolve.” He said the mediator will re-engage in talks “as soon as productive bargaining can begin anew.”
Speaking to reporters later in Ottawa after a Liberal caucus meeting, MacKinnon said he was “extremely frustrated” with the turn of events.
“These negotiations have not budged in over eight days under a special mediator,” he said.
The federal government has been urged by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business to step in and end the job action, by imposing either binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation.
MacKinnon said Wednesday that binding arbitration was “not in the cards” right now, but he did not rule out going that route if no progress is seen.
“These are differences of vision currently at the table that are hard to bridge using conventional arbitration and while I’d never rule out any option in the future, what I would say right now and for the foreseeable future is if this agreement does not come together at the table, there will be no end to this labour conflict.”
On Tuesday, Canada Post said negotiations with the CUPW had come to a grinding halt on important issues.
A special mediator had been guiding the talks between the two sides since Nov. 18, but the Crown corporation says “progress has been limited to minor items.”
“Canada Post is considering its options to move negotiations forward as talks with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have ground to a halt on key issues critical to the Corporation’s future,” Lisa Liu, a company spokesperson, said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Liu said the union has not been responding to the proposals that Canada Post has put forward over the past several days and the mailing service was informed by the special mediator that CUPW “will not be responding at all.”
“We had hoped the union would bring some much-needed urgency to the discussions. That has not been the case.”
Despite the stalled negotiations, Canada Post remains “committed to the bargaining process,” Liu said.
More than 55,000 Canada Post workers went on strike on Nov. 15, halting mail and parcel services across the country. Some post offices have also been shuttered amid the job action.
The strike, which comes ahead of Black Friday, has already impacted the busy holiday shopping season with nearly 10 million parcels with Canada Post missing delivery since the job action began.
As the labour dispute drags on, the sides are not meeting eye to eye on a number of issues, including wage increases, contract work for weekend deliveries and full-time staffing.
In a statement on Tuesday, Jan Simpson, CUPW’s national president, said: “After a week of discussions about parcels with no real movement, on Saturday morning CUPW requested that the Employer respond to Urban demands that were presented a month ago. To date there has been no response. These included demands about Group 1 staffing and contract work.”
“Canada Post appears to be trying to sway public opinion and turn Canadians against postal workers, who have continually demonstrated a deep commitment to the country and its citizens,” Simpson said.
“This tactic of distraction not only mischaracterizes the nature of the Negotiations but undermines the hard work and dedication shown by postal employees.”
—With files from Global’s Bryan Mullan