Canada Post says strike contributed $208M to the company's $1.3B loss last year
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The company also said it has been impacted by the decline in letter mail, which has been steadily trending downward for 20 years. In 2006, Canada Post delivered 5.5 billion letters. Last year, it delivered two billion. The delivery costs are rising as the amount of new addresses increases, making it 'unsustainable' to continue delivering fewer letters to more addresses. The corporation said its focus will shift to parcel delivery, as e-commerce continues to grow.
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However, this pivot is in direct conflict with the collective agreements it has with CUPW, which 'contain pages and pages of requirements and restrictions that were added decades ago' when Canada Post was 'focused on delivering a large and steady stream of mail,' it said.
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The union's national president Jan Simpson responded to the annual report in a news release later on Wednesday. She said that the Canada Post's report left out 'many important details that don't support its own message.'
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She said the report doesn't address its 'failure to raise stamp rates before 2025, even though every other major postal operator raised rates significantly between 2018-2023.' It also doesn't include how much of the losses since 2018 resulted from costs related to the COVID pandemic, she said.
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The union maintains that the 'best way to right the Corporation's finances is by negotiating ratifiable collective agreements that will help grow parcel volumes, expand services and secure Canada Post's position as the important public service provider that it is.'
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'There are almost no changes from what the Employer put forward on May 21,' when the corporation presented offers after receiving strike notice, the union said.
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The union called out the corporation for refusing to budge on contentious issues, such as part-time staffing and weekend delivery, as well as load-levelling (spreading out the processing and delivery of mail) and dynamic routing (optimizing delivery routes).
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'These have been the most challenging issues on the table this round, and now, Canada Post insists that they must be in the next collective agreements,' per the union.
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The latest offers did not provide improvements on the current wage proposal — a cumulative increase of nearly 14 per cent over four years — or include changes to the short-term disability program 'that would have helped both parties,' the union said.
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