By Dan Archer
The cooling-off period, a 21-day conciliation process between Canada Post and the Canadian Postal Workers Union was set to end on September 25. Thereafter, the postal union was prepared to file a 72-hour notice regarding job action. The CUPW reported they were prepared to go on strike on Wednesday, September 26, if they failed to reach an agreement after weeks of arbitration with the crown corporation. During a vote held on September 9, 94 per cent of letter carriers in urban areas voted for job action and 96 per cent of rural carriers voted in accordance with their city counterparts to go on strike.
The CPUW decided to avoid a strike for the time being on September 24. Instead of issuing a 72-hour strike notice , the union preferred to remain at the bargaining table with Canada Post to discuss better working conditions and pay. At this time, both parties are working to secure a better understanding with each other through mediation. The union was considering a rotating strike instead of a full-scale walk-out, meaning the CUPW would still negotiate terms with Canada Post, but job action would be sequestered to one or two locations, altering mail service for 24 hours in chosen areas. If the current bargaining process fails this week, or in the immediate future, the CUPW might consider a strike once again.
If a postal strike happens, Canadians relying on mail services will have to resort to private couriers and other options to obtain their parcels, paper bills and business documents. The last walk-out by postal workers transpired in June 2011 and lasted four weeks.
A two-week lock-out of CUPW workers by Canada Post followed the 2011 strike action.
