Is Canada Post on strike right now? Here's the latest on union negotiations

Last week, Canada Post received a strike notice from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) that was set to begin on May 23 if an agreement could not be reached. While the deadline to strike has passed, the union instead has implemented a nationwide overtime ban  while negotiations continue. The ban went into effect last Thursday and is still in place at the start of this week. Canada Post workers have been called on to refuse to work more than eight hours in a day and more than forty hours in a week. What happened last time Canada Post workers went on a strike? The overtime ban is a legal strike action and all CUPW members must follow this direction, according to the union. With negotiations ongoing between Canada Post and CUPW, here’s what to know. What’s the latest in terms of negotiations between CUPW, Canada Post? On Sunday, the union responded to new offers sent by Canada Post last week. Canada Post will review the union’s response in detail, it said in a news release . The response comes after both parties met with federal mediation and conciliation services at a facility just outside of Ottawa over the weekend, the union said. “All of this was done through the standard process in mediation called: the integrative approach,” the union said. “Documents and ideas exchanged during the integrative approach are confidential and cannot be used against that party at any subsequent arbitration or any other legal proceeding. This privacy allows both parties to talk about issues they may not otherwise entertain.” What are some of the issues that remain unresolved between Canada Post, CUPW? The union said it is still working on resolving issues such as wages, cost of living allowance, sick days, short-term disability program, workers compensation, compensatory time, relief staff, staffing, contracting out, weekend delivery, and part-time usage. When will Canada Post respond to CUPW? The union said it was informed that Canada Post had left the facility to review the documents later on Sunday afternoon. “We were told they may respond within a few days. We would hope the Corporation is back to us as soon as possible,” the union said. Meanwhile, Canada Post said it would “respond in short order,” because it was “now time for urgency,” after nearly two years of negotiations, a 32-day-long national strike in November of last year and the release of the final report of the Industrial Inquiry Commission . The report offers up recommendations on how the union and Canada Post can move forward. Although talks continue, the nationwide overtime ban remains in effect. How is Canada Post being affected? The drawn out negotiations seem to be affecting Canada Post. “The impact of the ongoing uncertainty on our business is significant, but the impact on the Canadian economy is greater,” the corporation said on Sunday. “By the end of last week our delivered parcel volumes were down by 50 per cent over this time last year and continue to drop.” Alternative carriers have seen a surge in business inquiries as the uncertainty plaguing Canada Post and its workers looms, Financial Post reported . Stallion Express Inc., an e-commerce shipping service, told the publication that it has seen a 22 per cent spike in “inbound inquiries and new-account requests.”

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