Canada Post and its second-largest union have reached an agreement for rural post offices.
After 18 months of negotiating, Canada Post and the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, which represents employees that primarily manage post offices in rural Canada, have a new collective agreement. A news release from Canada Post Thursday (June 19) said its the union is its second-largest bargaining agent and represents more than 8,500 employees.
The new collective agreement between Canada Post and the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association includes an 11-per-cent wage increase over three years, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024. Broken down, it's 6 per cent in 2024, three per cent in 2025 and two per cent in 2026.
The arbitrator for the negotiations cited the recent Industrial Inquiry Commission report, which was released May 15. The report had an "impact on the negotiations, and that even under the challenging circumstances that the report outlined, the parties proved collective bargaining can work," the release said.
The May 15 report painted a potentially dire future for Canada Post, saying the company is facing an existential crisis and is "effectively insolvent, or bankrupt." The report also recommended phasing out daily door-to-door delivery for individual homes.
The Industrial Inquiry Commission report came after hearings held earlier in the year into the issues facing Canada Post and the union.
The new collective agreement between Canada Post and the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association is effective Jan. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2026.
