THUNDER BAY — As the postal workers' union prepares to go back to the bargaining table, MP Patty Hajdu, minister of jobs and families, says “the members have spoken.”
“Now it's time for the parties to truly negotiate in good faith to get an agreement that will serve their members,” Hajdu told Newswatch in an interview on Wednesday.
Hajdu forced the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to vote on an offer from Canada Post, a move that was met with opposition from the union, including CUPW Local 620, who urged its members to vote against the proposed agreement.
When the polls closed at midnight on Friday, 69.4 per cent of rural and suburban mail carriers and 68.5 per cent of urban mail carriers had voted to go back to the bargaining table.
“Canadians are relying on Canada Post and the union to get this right, and so the work lies ahead for the parties,” Hajdu said.
When asked if it was the right call to force the union to vote, Hajdu said, “there were questions in the minds of the employer” on wherever or not workers were unhappy with Canada Post’s final offer.
“Now it's given the corporation the clarity that it needs, that in fact the members have and do by majority reject the offer that's on the table,” Hajdu said.
“The next step is that the two parties have to find an offer and a counter offer they have to negotiate together to find a path forward that will result in a collective agreement that will serve the members and serve the corporation.”
She also noted that “a strong union with well-employed members” needs to have “a corporation that's financially viable.”
CUPW Local 620 president Leo Favreau said in an interview on Tuesday that he would like “the government to start looking at management now after doing everything they've done to the union.”
“How somebody can be in power and lose three-quarters of a million dollars a year for seven years, you've really got to question that,” Favreau said.
Canada Post reported that they have seen significant losses since 2018, losing more than $3.8 billion before tax. In 2024, the company's operating losses were nearly $1.3 billion.
In June, Canada Post's operating losses increased to approximately $10 million a day, more than double the daily average losses in June 2024.
Hajdu mentioned her ministry will not be directly involved in the next round of negotiations, but said Social Development Canada has a federal mediation service.
They will work with both parties to negotiate a new collective agreement, but at this point, “the parties are in the driver's seat.”
“This is really a Canada Post and CUPW issue to solve. We are there with tools, but they must figure out the next steps together,” Hajdu said.
