SACKVILLE — The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is urging its members to reject what it calls a “final offer” from Canada Post as a forced vote ordered by the federal government wraps up.

The vote was mandated in June by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, following a dispute that saw postal workers ordered back to work during last winter’s strike. The board has not said when the results will be released.

CUPW, representing more than 50,000 employees in both Urban and Rural sectors, says the offer falls short on wage increases and undermines seniority rights. National president Jan Simpson said accepting the deal would send a message that it is acceptable to “ignore free and fair collective bargaining” and “trample over” workers’ rights.

Line Doucet, president of CUPW Local 78 in Moncton, said the proposal would “gigify” the workforce by increasing part-time weekend work and introducing “part-time flex” positions, guaranteeing only 15 hours per week but requiring full-day shifts when needed. “You could have no personal life or no life balance,” she said.

Doucet also criticized what she described as Canada Post’s lack of good-faith bargaining. “The government’s always gonna take you out of trouble every time that you don’t want to negotiate in good faith,” she said, calling for Ottawa to stop intervening and require Canada Post to return to the table.

Canada Post workers are currently engaging in limited strike action by refusing overtime. A full strike was ended in December through a back-to-work order.

Stephen Law, an economics professor at Mount Allison University, said the dispute highlights the importance of the postal service. “If Canada Post is so important that their employees are not going to be allowed to go on strike, then Canada Post is really important and deserves the support of the government,” he said.

The Kaplan report, issued in May, described an “existential crisis” for the service, noting that letter-mail delivery has fallen from 5.5 billion pieces in 2006 to 2.2 billion in 2023. Canada Post’s parcel market share has also dropped, from 62 per cent in 2019 to 29 per cent last year.