Union says Canada Post won't meet 'halfway' on arbitration, prolonging deadlock

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OTTAWA — The union representing 55,000 postal employees says Canada Post is refusing to meet it “halfway” on arbitration, with talks stalled and the two sides still far apart.

In an update Tuesday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said the Crown corporation is unwilling to collaborate on drafting the terms for an arbitrator to weigh and then hand down a deal.

The union said Canada Post instead wants to use a federally commissioned report that was “tilted” in favour of the employer as the basis for binding arbitration.

On Monday, Canada Post rejected the terms put forward by the union for that process, which Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu asked the parties to work on just five days earlier.

Canada Post spokeswoman Lisa Liu said a negotiated agreement is “always the preferred path.

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“However, after 18 months, the parties remain at an impasse and the union has not responded to our final offers presented on May 28,” Liu said in a statement Tuesday.

“The other option in the Canada Labour Code is an employee-directed vote, which we have requested. Arbitration is a lengthy legal process that puts our future in the hands of others at a critical juncture, with employees having no say in the final result.”

Liu has said the union has effectively refused to take heed of the report, which recommended major reforms to the 158-year-old institution, including more flexible routes and part-time weekend positions with similar pay rates and benefits.

The back-and-forth has left the two parties deadlocked, unable to find much common ground as the union remains in a legal strike position with all members under an overtime ban since May 23.