After months of contract talks, the union representing 50,000 postal workers looks set to serve its 72-hour strike notice on Thursday, as its strike mandate is set to expire at the end of the day. “Canada Post is maintaining its unacceptable demands, rollbacks,” said chief negotiators in a bulletin to members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on Wednesday. “If nothing changes between now and tomorrow, we will be issuing our 72-hour notice of strike activity.”However, the bulletin added that “it is critical that we all continue to show up for work unless otherwise notified by our national union.”Bargaining talks have heated up in recent days as federal politicians, including Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk and Treasury Board president Scott Brison, have met with union officials and Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra. Key issues have included the company’s push to switch all new hires to a defined contribution pension plan and the ability to close nearly 500 union-staffed retail locations. The union has also called for equalizing pay among rural carriers, who are mostly women, with urban carriers.

Source: thestar August 24, 2016 23:26 UTC