Canada Post turns down CUPW’s request for arbitration

The Canada Post Corporation (CPC) has declined the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' (CUPW) invitation to “fair, final and binding arbitration.”

The union announced the request for arbitration on Saturday after the crown corporation announced on Friday that it had requested that the federal government force a vote among the union-represented employees on the corporation’s final offers.

“This refusal constitutes yet another demonstration that CPC is not interested in a reasonable outcome to this round of negotiation,” wrote CUPW.

“A forced vote may fail to end the labour conflict and risks further division, prolonging uncertainty for all parties. Arbitration would end the labour dispute immediately and create certainty for all Canadians.”

On Friday, CUPW met with Patty Hajdu, minister of jobs and families, and John Zerucelli, secretary of state for labour.

The union said that it shared its concerns about negotiations and the most recent offers from Canada Post. CUPW added that Hajdu would continue to play an intermediary role in the bargaining process and did not plan to intervene at this time.

But that meeting did take place before Canada Post made a formal request to Minister Hajdu to call for a vote on the latest offers from the Crown corporation.

“In every other bargaining relationship where the government has interfered with the right to strike as it did in 2024 with postal workers, the government has imposed fair and binding arbitration to resolve bargaining differences as required by the Law,” CUPW said on Saturday.

“During the arbitration process, the employees cannot strike, and the employer cannot lock out the employees, which is not the case in respect of the conduct of a forced vote. Moreover, if the employer’s last offers are rejected by the employees, the dispute continues, arguably dividing the parties further and bringing more harm to Canadians.”

Postal workers across the country have been on an overtime ban since May 23.