Parcel carriers including UPS, FedEx and Purolator are gaining parcel volumes due to Canada Post’s escalating labour dispute with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and its lockout notice which is likely to come into effect on Monday after the union refused to submit to binding arbitration.
UPS issued a service update on Wednesday informing customers that all Canada Post services could be suspended as of Friday, July 8, due to its 72-hour lockout notice to the union. However, Canada Post has extended its lockout notice until Monday 12:01 as it hopes to resolve the current impasse at negotiations.
UPS Canada said that it is prepared with contingency plans to handle additional volumes and has moved daily scheduled delivery times to the end of the day for shipments within Canada, with Guaranteed Service Refunds remaining applicable for all services. Delivery commitments and Guaranteed Service Refunds for shipments to and from international destinations remain unchanged. “Our number one priority remains to serve our existing customers and their existing volume,” the parcel operator stressed.
Customers looking for an alternative to their regular Canada Post shipments, can drop off pre-labelled UPS shipments at UPS Access Point locations in their proximity.
UPS Canada reportedly hired 300 new employees across the country to cope with the additional volumes. The company already started making contingency plans at the end of June when a potential labour dispute at Canada Post was looming.
“If you are a business owner, an enterprise, an online shopper or planning for a special occasion, you will want to have a backup plan for your shipping needs starting July 2, 2016,” UPS Canada said in a press release on 28 June.
FedEx Canada also announced that it has a comprehensive contingency plan in place while it hopes that negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW are resolved “amicably”. Due to the additional parcel volumes that are coming into its network, it has temporarily suspended the money-back guarantee for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipments delivered in Canada. “Our number one priority is to continue to deliver the exceptional service our customers expect from us every day,” the company stated.
Express parcel carrier Purolator, a subsidiary of Canada Post, is also currently experiencing a significant increase in shipment volumes “resulting from a potential Canada Post labour disruption.”
“Earlier service cut-off times or extended pick-up and/or drop-off windows for unscheduled shipments are in effect in select areas. This temporary service change is to minimise negative impact to service for our customers and protect service to remaining areas as much as possible,” Purolator stated.
Similar to FedEx, the company has temporarily suspended its service guarantees for time-definite and day-definite services as of June, 30. New account registration processes have also been temporarily suspended but shipments for both account and non-account customers will still be accepted at Purolator Shipping Centres.
“As we work through processing heavy shipment volume, shipments will be processed on a first-in, first-out basis, in the order they are received. Unfortunately, there will likely be delays throughout this period, and we ask customers to schedule shipments as early as possible or adjust shipping schedules where possible to allow for extra delivery time throughout,” Purolator explained.
“Our operations teams are working diligently and managing contingency plans, which include additional staff and overtime hours, to process extra volumes as fast as possible and service our customers to their satisfaction. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes and are working to ensure optimal service to our customers as we process the additional volume,” the company concluded.
Rival Loomis Express, owned by the Transforce Group, has also temporarily suspended service guarantees “until further notice”. It stated: “This decision is due to the additional volume of business resulting from the potential Canada Post labour disruption.”
Meanwhile, in an attempt to avoid the lockout and to resolve the labour dispute as soon as possible, the Canadian Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Mary Ann Mihychuk, asked both Canada Post and the CUPW union to submit to binding arbitration. Canada Post agreed to it “as an opportunity for both parties to reach an acceptable resolution”.
“While negotiated settlements are always the preferred option, it has become clear that after seven months of negotiations, the parties remain far apart on key issues at the bargaining table. The uncertainty caused by the prolonged negotiations is having a severe impact on the business, our employees and our customers,” the postal operator said.
“It is our hope that CUPW will consider submitting to binding arbitration to end the uncertainty. Canada Post is extending the current 72-hour notice period to Monday at 12:01 am to provide time for the union to consider this option. A quick resolution is in the best interest of our employees, our customers and the long-term future of the postal system,” Canada Post added.
However, the union “politely” declined the suggestion from Mihychuk to bring negotiations with Canada Post management to binding arbitration, saying it’s a “matter of principle”.
“We appreciate the offer to help, but paying women equally for work of equal value is the law of the land; it’s not something that can be awarded or withheld by an arbitrator,” Mike Palecek, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said.
The union is demanding that Canada Post creates an hourly wage for rural and suburban mail carriers, 70% of whom are women. They currently earn on average almost 30% less than their mostly male counterparts in the larger urban unit.
Today, the union has proposed a 30-day “cooling off period” to Canada Post management and has offered to drop an “unfair labour practices complaint” that it filed against Canada Post on Wednesday “as a sign of good faith” if Canada Post agrees to its proposal.
The union said it is prepared to engage in “intensive negotiations” with Canada Post during the cooling-off period, “which would include an extension of the terms and conditions of 50,000 workers’ current contracts”.
“Our members, their families and all Canadians do not deserve to have this threat of a lockout ‘looming’ over our heads from a profitable public service. Postal workers want to work and people need to know that it’s safe to use the mail system,” Palecek said.
“Instead of negotiating with us fairly, this profitable crown corporation has been busy scaring businesses and the public off with threats of labour strife. They need to give that a rest and get back to the table with us,” he concluded.
