Canada's labour minister is threatening back-to-work legislation if the government does not see a resolution to the ongoing Canada Post strike soon.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development & Labour Patty Hajdu said the government has re-appointed a special mediator to work with Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), which represents striking employees across the country.
"We strongly encourage both sides to reach a deal and [the Canadian government is] prepared to table legislation if we do not see a resolution over the next few days -- a step we do not take lightly," she said in a statement.
She said while the government has faith in the collective bargaining process, limited progress has been made between the two parties.
"For nearly a year, we have been supporting and encouraging both sides to reach a negotiated agreement. We provided conciliation officers, appointed mediators and offered voluntary arbitration," Hajdu said. "We have exhausted our options."
On Saturday, the union rejected the corporation’s latest offer and called on the federal government to appoint the mediator. The union has also rejected a proposal by Canada Post for an 80-day “cooling-off” period, which would have been followed by binding arbitration to end the dispute.
Rotating strikes started on October 23 and have affected almost every mail facility across the country.
Canada Post has warned online shoppers ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday that it may be unable to honour delivery standards for any packages because of the rotating strikes.
