Federal Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will begin working with a special mediator Friday morning in the face of a union threat of job action.
The union representing nearly 51,000 employees issued a 72-hour notice of job action Thursday, accusing the Crown corporation of forcing a labour dispute.
It was unclear whether the action would result in a disruption of mail and parcel deliveries, something that — if it does happen — could come as early as next week.
The union said the notice, delivered to management just hours before a strike mandate was set to expire, "listed anticipated job actions" but stopped short of a full-blown walkout. The union hasn't said exactly what actions it was planning.
The notice puts postal carriers in a legal strike position by Aug. 28.
In a statement, CUPW President Mike Palecek said Canada Post forced the union's hand by refusing to accept a request from the federal labour minister to continue negotiations under a 24-hour deadline extension with the help of a special mediator.
