Canada Post's mail delivery could be halted on July 2 if the Crown corporation does not reach a tentative agreement with its workers, says the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
“We're negotiating seven days a week right now,” Mike Palecek, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, told Sudbury.com. “We're doing our best to reach a negotiated collective agreement, but we're not sure Canada Post has that same goal. Every indication is that they're intending to lock us out in early July.”
In case of a lockout Palecek said all letter mail deliveries would likely cease, and Canadians would need to turn to private sector competitors like FedEx and UPS for parcel deliveries.
“It appears they're headed towards a complete shutdown of the post office,” Palecek said.
While Canada Post has been profitable 18 of the past 20 years, Palecek said the Crown corporation has pushed to institute more cuts to benefits, pensions and job security for its workers.
In 2015 Canada Post reported a profit before tax of $63 million.
It credited the profitable year to more parcel deliveries – where revenue has grown by $429 million since 2011 – and a price increase in 2014, along with improved productivity.
But Canada Post said in a press release last year its $63 million in profits was modest compared to the corporation's revenues, and added it faces significant challenges, including a continuing decline in mail volumes.
Letter mail deliveries fell by nearly 250 million pieces in 2015.
To help decrease its costs and increase profits, Canada Post started to move Canada's five million households that still received door-to-door mail delivery to community mailboxes in 2013.
By late 2015 Canada Post had switched around 850,000 addresses to community mailboxes; a change the Crown corporation said would save $80 million annually.
After the federal Liberals were elected in October 2015 they halted the change to community mailboxes, but did not revert homes back to door-to-door delivery, as they had promised in their electoral campaign.
Canada Post is now in the midst of a public review – to help determine its future direction – but Palecek said a labour dispute could interrupt any positive steps forward.
He said the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has suggested a number of ways for the corporation to diversify and stay profitable, including entering the banking sector.
But Palecek said any suggestions for new business ventures have been ignored by management.
Sudbury.com contacted Canada Post for comment about the potential for a lockout, but did not receive a response by deadline.
