As Canada Post grapples with losses to the tune of $10-million daily because of strike action, the Canada Industrial Relations Board has ordered a vote on the Crown Corporation's last offer.
The vote for members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will start on Monday, July 21, and continue until August 1, either by phone or online.
The board issued the Notice of Vote on Wednesday and will administer the confidential vote.
If the offer is accepted, it would bring an end to 19 months of labour unrest.
Unionized workers in both the Urban and Rural-Suburban units will vote.
The offer from Canada Post includes wage increases of six per cent in the first year of the contract, followed by a three per cent increase in year two, and two per cent in years three and four. Full-time workers will get a $1,000 signing bonus, and the offer maintains their defined pension plan. It also creates new part-time positions with predictable hours and benefits, allowing the corporation to offer weekend parcel delivery.
The workers walked off the job in December, but were ordered back to work by the federal government. Since then, they've refused overtime.
Before negotiations started, Canada Post was already facing significant financial challenges. Since 2018, it's lost $3.8-billion before taxes, and $1.3-billion last year.
Back in May, a report from the Industrial Inquiry Commission concluded, "Canada Post is facing an existential crisis: It is effectively insolvent, or bankrupt, and the world has changed, and both Canada Post and CUPW must evolve and adapt."