Canada Post union negotiator balks at labour minister's calling for a 'time-out'

This week, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced a 'time-out' in the ongoing Canada Post strike. In a way, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) negotiator Jim Gallant says he agrees with that phrasing.

This week, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced a "time-out" in the ongoing Canada Post strike. In a way, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) negotiator Jim Gallant says he agrees with that phrasing.

"I feel like he's treating us like children," Gallant told CTV Power Play host Mike Le Couteur in an interview on Friday. "It's time-out, that's for sure."

In a press conference on Friday, MacKinnon said he was tapping the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to intervene in negotiations that have reached what he calls "an impasse."

The minister asked the board to "assess the likelihood" of a negotiated agreement this year, and if resolution proves unlikely, order the union back to work.

"The Government of Canada places great importance on collective bargaining as the preferred means of resolving the disagreements between employers and workers," a statement from the minister's office reads. "However, the ongoing conflict between (CUPW) and Canada Post has reached a critical point."

Should the strike be suspended through a CIRB ruling, the existing collective agreement between the carrier and its workers would be extended until May 2025, a move Gallant says would have the union "start over from day one," potentially bringing more disruptions.

"If we were to go back out on strike, the public, our members; who's going to put up with that twice in a year?" Gallant said.