It has been more than three weeks since the federal jobs minister ordered a vote by Canada Post workers on the “final” contract offer by the Crown corporation, but there is still no set date for that to happen.
The question of when that vote may occur is in the hands of the Canada Industrial Relations Board, according to both Canada Post and the union, the latter of which described a process of “chaos and confusion.”
The negotiations between Canada Post and its unionized postal workers have been ongoing for more than 18 months, which has resulted in various waves of work stoppage and strike action that are still at least partially in place, including a union ban on overtime.
In an emailed response to Global News on July 4, inquiring about when the vote may be taking place, a Canada Post spokesperson said they had no update to offer.
“We do not yet have dates to share,” the spokesperson said.
“Both parties, Canada Post and CUPW (Canadian Union of Postal Workers), continue to work with the CIRB (Canada Industrial Relations Board) in preparation for the vote.”
At the time of the jobs minister’s order for a vote to be held, the Crown corporation had said that the final vote would take place “as soon as possible.”
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In the statement sent to Global News, Canada Post said that the CIRB “will provide a Notice of Vote to both parties that will include the voting period — that has not yet been provided.”
Responding to a Global News request, a representative from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which is handling the vote, said, “We are currently working diligently with all involved parties to proceed with this complex vote. At this time, however, we are unable to provide a specific date for when the vote will take place.”
Meanwhile, CUPW expressed frustration for its members in a separate written statement to Global News.
“While the order called for the votes to happen ‘as soon as possible,’ it has quickly become clear that neither the Government nor the Canada Industrial Relations Board were prepared for the challenge of overseeing a vote of 50,000 workers across the country,” the statement from the CUPW said.
“So far, the voter registration process has been one of chaos and confusion. For far too many of our members, it has undermined any confidence they could have in this vote. We have yet to receive dates for when the votes will be conducted.”
A bulletin posted on the CUPW website also outlines how some of its members are formally addressing the CIRB to complain about what the union calls an “unfair practice” by Canada Post.
“Canada Post has chosen to bargain directly with members and undermine the Union’s exclusive bargaining rights, all while trying to discredit the Union’s reputation,” the union’s bulletin says.
On Monday, Canada Post shared additional information, saying an employee email database for workers to participate in the vote has been set up as of June 27, with a deadline for July 7 at 11:59pm ET. The company adds that this was done with the direction of the CIRB.
“Employees have been very engaged — within two hours of the site launching, 10,000 employees had already successfully updated, modified or confirmed an email address,” the spokesperson said at Canada Post.
“Following the July 7th deadline, complete employee lists with the updated email addresses will be forwarded to the CIRB. The distribution of PINs from the CIRB would follow at some point. CIRB has not confirmed further details about timing, including the timing of the actual vote, with the parties. ”
On June 19, Canada Post’s second-largest union of postal workers, the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, agreed to the terms of an updated offer.
CUPW is the largest of the postal worker unions at Canada Post, representing some 50,000 workers.
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