Canada Post makes new offer to employees

Canada Post has issued what it calls a “time-limited” contract offer to its employees in the hope of ending rotating strikes that have created a historic backlog of undelivered parcels. The offer came just hours after online sales and auctioning giant eBay called on the federal government to legislate an end to the Canada Post contract dispute. The Crown corporation’s four-year offer includes annual two-per-cent wage hikes, plus signing bonuses of up to $1,000 per employee.

The $650-million proposal also includes new job-security provisions, including for rural and suburban carriers who have complained about precarious employment, and a $10-million health and safety fund.

But Canada Post has said that the measures are only affordable if a deal can be agreed to before the holiday shopping rush, so it has imposed a deadline of Saturday, Nov. 17, for Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) members to accept the deal.