OTTAWA - A weekend of negotiations failed to produce a settlement to end rotating strikes by Canada Post's urban workers.
Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton says management told union negotiators that the job action has only succeeded in pushing customers away.
Hamilton says the post office feels that those customers won't return until they're sure reliable service can be provided.
He repeated the post office mantra that the union representing the workers is making unrealistic demands.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said on Friday that it would end the strikes if the previous collective agreement was re-instated, something the post office rejected.
Postal workers in Red Deer spent the weekend on strike and employees in ten cities across the country will walk off the job next.
The rotating strikes will begin late Sunday night in Corner Brook, N.L., Fredericton, N.B., Sydney, N.S. and its surrounding communities, Trois-Rivieres, Que., Sherbrooke, Que., Cornwall, Ont., Windsor, Ont., Niagara Falls, Ont., Regina, Sask. and Nanaimo, B.C.
The rotating strikes started June 2.
Canada Post is going to start reducing mail delivery to most urban areas to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting this week.
Hamilton blames declining mail volumes due to the strike.
