Canada Post laying off postal workers amid strike, but says it’s temporary

Canada Post confirmed connected Thursday it is laying disconnected immoderate striking postal workers arsenic the nationwide enactment stoppage hits the two-week mark, but said the enactment is temporary.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) posted successful a bulletin to members Monday that the institution was calling workers crossed the state to laic them off, and claimed immoderate of the layoffs “may beryllium much permanent.”

A Canada Post spokesperson said successful a connection to Global News connected Thursday that each layoffs are impermanent arsenic the onslaught continues, which has “significantly impacted” concern astatine the message carrier.

“We person taken steps to set our operations,” the connection said. “That means the antecedently expired corporate agreements nary longer use and their presumption and conditions of employment for employees person truthful changed.”

The CUPW bulletin, attributed to nationalist grievance serviceman Carl Girouard, claimed immoderate layoff enactment during a onslaught was a usurpation of the Canada Labour Code’s provisions against leader interference during legally-protected occupation action.

Canada Post said the impermanent layoffs are allowed nether the labour code, citing the expired corporate agreement.

The CUPW said Monday the layoffs were “merely a scare tactic” by the institution and urged members “not to panic if you person specified a call.”

The quality betwixt Canada Post and 55,000 striking postal workers reached a standstill Wednesday aft the peculiar mediator appointed by the national authorities temporarily suspended his work.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said the mediator had concluded the parties were excessively acold isolated to scope a woody connected a caller contract. He urged some sides to “come backmost to the negotiating array with a greater consciousness of urgency” during a gathering with institution and national leaders Wednesday evening, according to his office.

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A spokesperson for MacKinnon told Global News connected Thursday the curate wouldn’t remark connected the Canada Post layoffs arsenic it wasn’t related to the negotiations.

However, the spokesperson said nary labour ailment has been filed related to the issue.

Canada Post connected Thursday said it is “considering its options to determination negotiations guardant with greater urgency and remains committed to negotiating caller corporate agreements.”

“With mounting fiscal losses successful the billions, Canada Post requires greater flexibility to its outdated, mail-based transportation model,” the institution said. “This is astir the aboriginal of the postal work and increasing revenues by amended serving Canadians.”

The Crown corp said past week it mislaid $315 cardinal earlier taxation successful the 3rd quarter, larger than its $290-million nonaccomplishment a twelvemonth earlier.

The fiscal results enactment Canada Post connected way for “another important loss” successful 2024, which would people the seventh twelvemonth successful a enactment successful the red.

More to come…