Mediator named
Lawyer and author William Kaplan has been appointed to try and bring an end to the monthslong labour dispute at Canada Post.
With the clock ticking toward a potential work stoppage at Canada Post, lawyer and author William Kaplan was appointed Friday to seek an end to the months-long labour dispute at the Crown agency. In appointing the seasoned mediator and arbitrator to lead a team of interveners, Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said her hope was the Torontobased Kaplan could avert threatened job action by members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
“I am hopeful that this will bring a new perspective to the negotiating table, which could motivate the parties to find a solution and move beyond their current impasse,” Mihychuk said in a statement.
“I continue to closely monitor the situation.” The union issued a 72-hour strike notice Thursday, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption. Nine months of contract talks between the Crown corporation and CUPW reached a stalemate this week with both sides saying they remained far apart on key issues including pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees. Adding fuel to its argument that its ability to meet the union’s contract demands is severely restricted, Canada Post revealed Friday that it earned a profit of about $1 million in the second quarter of operations this year, a result it termed “essentially break-even” compared with a before-tax loss of $31 million during the same period a year ago.
It credited recent cost-cutting and a growing parcel delivery business for the small profit. However, the fiscal black ink was far overshadowed by a daunting pension obligation, Canada Post warned. “Canada Post’s pension solvency deficit … is estimated at $8.1 billion as of July 1, 2016, up from $6.1 billion at December 31, 2015 (using the market value of plan assets),” the agency said.
“The large size and volatility of this obligation compared to the corporation’s revenue and profit presents a major challenge to the corporation’s financial self-sustainability.”