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OTTAWA — A business group says Canada Post and its employees have only won themselves short-term stability by reaching tentative new contracts ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says long-term pain is inevitable for the Crown corporation because the two-year agreements don’t deal with the carrier’s mammoth financial issues.
Under the agreements, reached late yesterday with the help of a special mediator, an independent body will study the pay equity issue that was at the core of the months-long labour dispute that had seen threatened job action.
The two sides also agreed to leave the corporation’s defined benefit pension plan untouched.
Canada Post had sought changes to the plan for new employees as it deals with an estimated $8 billion deficit, but the Canadian Union of Postal Workers balked, calling it a two-tier pension system.
CFIB president Dan Kelly says the deals do nothing to fix the long-term problems at Canada Post, such as the decline in letter business and the price increases he says will ultimately be needed to help pay for the pension shortfall.
