Latest news with #contractNegotiations
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Canada Post to stay operational; union calls for ban on overtime work
May 23 (Reuters) - Canada Post said on Friday that operations will continue, but customers may face delays due to a union-imposed ban limiting workers to eight-hour shifts. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) announced an immediate nationwide overtime ban, directing members to refuse work beyond 40 hours per week, it said in a separate release. "At this time, there are no rotating strikes or national work stoppage," Canada Post said. The development comes after Canada Post met with the union Thursday evening to continue contract negotiation talks. However, a spokesperson for Canada Post said the meeting lasted less than 30 minutes and "was unfortunately not enough to demonstrate meaningful progress." Canada Post had previously received notices from the union indicating that it would begin strike activity from Friday. In case of a nationwide strike, the postal company had said it would not accept any new items until the disruption was over, and mail and parcels would not be delivered.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Canada Post employees not working overtime as negotiations continue
Canada Post signage and parked vehicles are seen at a Canada Post mail sorting facility in Ottawa on November 18, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby) Canada Post workers are sticking with their national overtime ban as contract negotiations continue. On Sunday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers met with federal mediators to respond to the latest offer from Canada Post, a Crown corporation. 'The Union's replies to Canada Post's proposals offer comprehensive, pragmatic and workable solutions to important issues still on the table, including, for example: wages, the short-term disability plan (STDP), weekend parcel delivery, and staffing,' a union spokesperson told on Monday morning. 'We expect Canada Post to respond early in the week. Our nationwide overtime ban remains in effect.' This is a developing story and will be updated
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Canada Post workers to refuse overtime work as contract talks fall short
Canada Post workers will be staying on the job, despite contract talks between the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers falling short. In a statement Thursday night, CUPW said its members are being called on to refuse overtime work starting at midnight local time across the country. The news comes as the union was in a position to legally strike as of midnight. 'At this time, the union has decided to proceed with an overtime ban to minimize disruptions to the public and lost days for members,' the union said in a statement. Canada Post and CUPW met with a mediator Thursday evening ahead of the midnight deadline. However, a spokesperson for Canada Post said the meeting lasted less than 30 minutes and 'was unfortunately not enough to demonstrate meaningful progress.' Canada Post said some customers had already begun shifting to other delivery providers or cancelling mailings in anticipation of potential service disruptions. The most recent news follows a tumultuous two weeks at the bargaining table. On Monday, CUPW issued a strike notice notifying Canada Post that employees plan to strike starting midnight on Friday – exactly when the current collective agreement expires. Canada Post responded on Wednesday by presenting a contract offer, after which CUPW requested a two-week 'truce' to consider it. Canada Post declined the request. Opinion: The truth is that Canada Post was simply set up to fail The two sides remain divided over several key issues, including wages, benefits and weekend delivery. CUPW has previously asked for a wage increase of 19 per cent over four years, while Canada Post proposed 13.59 per cent over four years. The two sides also still remain at odds over weekend delivery, a key sticking point in negotiations. While both Canada Post and CUPW support expanding weekend operations, they disagree on how to staff those shifts. Canada Post wants to hire part-time workers to handle weekend deliveries, while the union is pushing for full-time employees to take on the work, accusing the corporation of trying to introduce a gig-style model to the postal service. More than 55,000 workers went on strike for 32 days over November and December of last year, coinciding with the busy holiday shopping season. In December, the federal labour relations board ordered postal workers back on the job after a request by then-labour minister Steve MacKinnon. That decision extended the existing collective agreement and triggered the formation of an industrial inquiry commission to figure out why talks have repeatedly failed. The commission, led by labour negotiator and former University of Ottawa law professor William Kaplan, delivered its report publicly last Friday. It recommended sweeping changes to Canada Post's business model, including phasing out daily door-to-door mail delivery to individual homes. While Canada Post praised the recommendations, the union pushed back, saying in a statement the report 'skews heavily in favour of Canada Post's positions.' The report painted a bleak picture of Canada Post's financial health: 'Without thoughtful, measured, staged, but immediate changes, its fiscal situation will continue to deteriorate.' The corporation has posted more than $3-billion in losses since 2018. In January, it received a $1.03-billion federal loan to stay afloat this year, and has warned it will need at least $1-billion annually starting in 2026 to remain viable. Last year's strike left everything from holiday gifts to passports stuck in processing for weeks. In 2023, Canada Post delivered an average of 8.5 million letters and 1.1 million parcels per weekday – about 29 per cent of the parcel market.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NJ Transit engineers strike set to enter 3rd day as union, rail officials race to reach deal
NEW YORK — New Jersey rail lines stood silent for a second day as union members and state officials agreed to keep hammering out a contract Sunday as the start of the work week loomed. '[Saturday's] discussions continued to be constructive,' NJ Transit President Kris Kolluri said late in the afternoon. 'We've mutually agreed to adjourn formal discussions for the day but will continue talking and look forward to resuming discussions [Sunday.]' Kolluri and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy had scheduled meetings with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen on both Saturday and Sunday in the hopes of ending the engineers strike before Monday. The union asked for the Saturday meeting, which was scheduled on the fly late Friday, Kolluri said as he gave reporters an update on contract negotiations. A Sunday meeting had already been scheduled a few days earlier. 'The national president of locomotive engineers reached out to us for a meeting, and the governor and I promised to meet anytime and anywhere to see if we can get to a resolution,' Kolluri said in an early morning press conference Saturday. NJ Transit's 450 engineers went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday, leaving an estimated 350,000 daily commuters relying on NJ Transit buses to get to Manhattan. Kolluri admitted that the NJT buses were crowded Friday, but the service ran efficiently enough 'to make sure everyone who wanted to get on a bus had a bus available,' he said. Commutes to and from a Shakira concert at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Friday night were handled by Coach USA buses that were supplemented by NJT buses, Kolluri said. 'We also had 50 buses waiting at the Vince Lombardi station to make sure that nobody was stranded,' he said. 'Within 45 minutes, NJ Transit quietly and efficiently moved every single person who wanted to get on a bus out of there.' Money — specifically the hourly wage for the engineers who make the nation's third largest commuter rail network run — is at the center of the labor dispute that came to a head Thursday night as talks stalled and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen called the strike they first voted to authorize in August 2023. NJ Transit engineers' hourly rate starts at $39.78 an hour — less than their LIRR counterparts, who make $49.92, as well as the engineers of Metro-North, who make $57.20. Kolluri has said he offered a raise that would have seen the BLET members make $49.82 an hour by the summer. That offer led to a tentative agreement earlier this spring that looked briefly to have averted NJ Transit's first rail strike in 40 years. The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by 87% of BLET membership, however. Commuters are encouraged to work at home if the strike continues into Monday. Kolluri said that his people are 'ready to wake up the railroad' as soon as the deal is reached, but the deal will have to be an equitable one. 'We want a fair deal that will not break the bank,' he said. 'That is our principle. I hope the union understands that is where we are and that is where we will be. The governor and I have said we will not make a decision on a labor contract that will leave the next governor a mess to clean up.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NJ Transit engineers strike set to enter 3rd day as union, rail officials race to reach deal
NEW YORK — New Jersey rail lines stood silent for a second day as union members and state officials agreed to keep hammering out a contract Sunday as the start of the work week loomed. '[Saturday's] discussions continued to be constructive,' NJ Transit President Kris Kolluri said late in the afternoon. 'We've mutually agreed to adjourn formal discussions for the day but will continue talking and look forward to resuming discussions [Sunday.]' Kolluri and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy had scheduled meetings with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen on both Saturday and Sunday in the hopes of ending the engineers strike before Monday. The union asked for the Saturday meeting, which was scheduled on the fly late Friday, Kolluri said as he gave reporters an update on contract negotiations. A Sunday meeting had already been scheduled a few days earlier. 'The national president of locomotive engineers reached out to us for a meeting, and the governor and I promised to meet anytime and anywhere to see if we can get to a resolution,' Kolluri said in an early morning press conference Saturday. NJ Transit's 450 engineers went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday, leaving an estimated 350,000 daily commuters relying on NJ Transit buses to get to Manhattan. Kolluri admitted that the NJT buses were crowded Friday, but the service ran efficiently enough 'to make sure everyone who wanted to get on a bus had a bus available,' he said. Commutes to and from a Shakira concert at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Friday night were handled by Coach USA buses that were supplemented by NJT buses, Kolluri said. 'We also had 50 buses waiting at the Vince Lombardi station to make sure that nobody was stranded,' he said. 'Within 45 minutes, NJ Transit quietly and efficiently moved every single person who wanted to get on a bus out of there.' Money — specifically the hourly wage for the engineers who make the nation's third largest commuter rail network run — is at the center of the labor dispute that came to a head Thursday night as talks stalled and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen called the strike they first voted to authorize in August 2023. NJ Transit engineers' hourly rate starts at $39.78 an hour — less than their LIRR counterparts, who make $49.92, as well as the engineers of Metro-North, who make $57.20. Kolluri has said he offered a raise that would have seen the BLET members make $49.82 an hour by the summer. That offer led to a tentative agreement earlier this spring that looked briefly to have averted NJ Transit's first rail strike in 40 years. The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by 87% of BLET membership, however. Commuters are encouraged to work at home if the strike continues into Monday. Kolluri said that his people are 'ready to wake up the railroad' as soon as the deal is reached, but the deal will have to be an equitable one. 'We want a fair deal that will not break the bank,' he said. 'That is our principle. I hope the union understands that is where we are and that is where we will be. The governor and I have said we will not make a decision on a labor contract that will leave the next governor a mess to clean up.'
