Canada Post Workers to Strike Monday Barring Last-Minute Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Rotating strikes at Canada’s state-owned mail carrier will start in four cities early Monday unless a last-minute deal over collective agreements is reached, according to the union involved in the negotiations.

The strikes will last 24 hours and could delay mail delivery, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said in a statement. The work stoppages will begin at 12:01 a.m. local time in Windsor, Ontario, as well as in Edmonton and Victoria. In Halifax, it will start at 1:01 a.m., the union said.

“Canada Post had the opportunity this weekend to stop any postal disruption on Monday, but instead, as they have for almost a year, they refused to talk about the issues that matter to our members,” Mike Palecek, the union’s president, said in the statement. “Our goal has always been a negotiated settlement but we will not agree to anything that doesn’t address health and safety, gender equality and good, full-time middle-class jobs.”

In a statement, Canada Post said the company will continue to operate across the country.

“Canada Post remains committed to the bargaining process and has a significant offer on the table that includes increased wages, job security, improved benefits and contains no concessions,” according said. “We have also addressed many of the concerns raised by the union and offered to work together constructively to find solutions. ”

To contact the reporter on this story: Sandrine Rastello in Montreal at srastello@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net, Mark Niquette, Bernard Kohn

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