Rural N.L. could be cut off from delivery services, as Canada Post workers gear up for possible strike

A Canada-wide postal strike hovers on the horizon as Canada Post and its workers try to hammer out a deal, but the possibility of a strike could leave rural Newfoundland and Labrador in a bind with the busy Christmas shipping season fast approaching.

The Crown corporation and the union representing 60,000employees, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, are still negotiating a collective agreement.

But the cooling-off period in the contract talks ends on Saturday meaning workers would be in a legal position to strike as of 12:01 a.m. ET on Nov. 3, if the union gives notice 72 hours in advance.

Craig Dyer, chief shop steward with the local chapter of CUPW, says the union could give that notice any time, as 95 per cent of its members voted in favour of a strikeif negotiations don't improve.

"We're still at the negotiating table, right? There's still hope to get a good collective agreement for our workers, but the corporation's got to move off a whole bunch of rollbacks," Dyer said Friday morning.

"We have two totally different versions of how we see Canada Post in the future. We see Canada Posts as the hubs of the community, providing many services besides mail, generating more revenue. And the corporation just wants to cut, cut, cut, cut, cut."

Dyer said pensions are one of the major sticking points at the bargaining table at the moment. Despite a $7.2-billion surplus currently in the pension fund, Canada Post wants new employees to sign onto a different pension plan that he says redirects most of the risk to the worker.

Several other issues remain contentious, he added, such as health and safety items and quality control problems.

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Craig Dyer, president of the St. Johns-based chapter of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, says workers are demanding a fair deal. At this point, workers could give a 72-hour strike notice or Canada Post could issue a 72-hour lockout notice.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, Dyer said, those problems are only compounded.

"We're totally being mismanaged here locally. We have so many issues here in St. John's with management just making poor decisions and costing Canada Post a lot of money," Dyer said.

In the last year,labour relations alone including grievance arbitration "has cost the corporation well into seven figures for bad decisions," he said.

Ian Lee, a business professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, says the Crown corporation has faced declining revenue and deficits for years, and is now faced with intense competition from parcel delivery services like Intelcom.

"They have crossed into territory where they are no longer sustainable," Lee said.

Christmas deliveries under threat

The tensions come at a time when Canada Post is typically at its busiest. In Newfoundland and Labrador, many large couriers don't service rural areas, leaving Canada Post to pick up the slack.

"We're seeing a huge influx in volumes now in parcels," Dyer said.

"Hopefully without a strike, we'll see it throughout the Christmas period and we'll make a lot of people happy in our communities."

In a news release Tuesday, Canada Post outlined its latest offer to the union, which included a wageincrease ofnearly 12 per cent over four years.

"Both parties must urgently focus their energies on resolving outstanding issues to reach negotiated agreements," the corporation stated.

"A labour disruption would have significant consequences for the millions of Canadians who rely on Canada Post while deepening the company's already serious financial situation, as customers move their holiday shipments to other carriers. For this reason, the offers are conditional on reaching negotiated agreements without a labour disruption."

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