The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has ratified two collective agreements reached with Canada Post in July.

A four-year contract for the current 48,000 members effective February 1, 2003 includes a 12 per cent wage increase over the life of the contract, job security for all regular CUPW employees, and creates an opportunity for Canada Post to improve its business and control rising benefit costs.

"We are extremely pleased with the stability a four-year contract provides for our customers and employees," said the Honourable André Ouellet, president and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Post. "The creation of a new model for our package delivery system is vital to the future of our company and will assist us in moving forward to meet the challenges we face in our business."

A separate agreement, an eight-year contract with the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC), was also ratified. Effective January 1, 2004, the 6,000 RSMCs will become employees of Canada Post with guaranteed funding to finance wage increases and benefits for the members of the bargaining unit represented by the CUPW.

"Making rural route and suburban mail carriers employees of Canada Post allows us to grow our company and is in line with our commitment to improve service in rural Canada," said Mr. Ouellet.

These new contracts will allow Canada Post to move forward and meet the needs of its customers in the future.

Highlights of the agreements will follow in the coming weeks.

For employees and customers it is business as usual.

Canada Post is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement has been reached with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) on July 27, 2003. This tentative agreement will now be sent by CUPW to their membership for ratification. Further details will follow in the coming weeks.

Details of the pending ratification vote will be released as soon as possible.

For employees and customers it is business as usual.

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have agreed to extend the timeframe to finalize a new tentative agreement. The parties will attempt to bring the process to a conclusion within the next 24 hours.

Significant progress is being made, however the process is extremely time consuming. Canada Post remains confident that a new tentative agreement will be reached soon and will continue to maintain normal operations.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have agreed on a framework for settlement that will form the basis of a new collective agreement. The parties have agreed to finalize a tentative agreement in the next 72 hours. Further details will follow in the coming weeks.

For employees and customers it is business as usual.

Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) continue. As a result, the parties have agreed to postpone the strike/lockout deadline to 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, July 23.

Canada Post is maintaining normal operations and remains hopeful that a tentative agreement can be achieved without a work disruption.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are continuing to negotiate a new collective agreement. Canada Post has agreed to the Union's request to extend the strike deadline until 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2003. The negotiating teams have been working hard and are making progress towards a negotiated settlement.

Canada Post remains confident that a new collective agreement can be reached without a work disruption. Canada Post is maintaining normal operations and continues to meet the needs of its customers.

Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are progressing well. As a result, Canada Post has agreed to the union's request to extend their strike deadline until 12:01 a.m. EDT Monday, July 21, 2003, to allow talks to continue during the weekend.

Negotiating around the clock, we have made progress, and both sides will continue to work hard in an effort to reach a settlement. Canada Post is maintaining normal operations and remains hopeful that a tentative agreement can be achieved without a work disruption.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are progressing. As a result, the Union has advised us that they will not take strike action at this time.

Negotiating around the clock, we have made progress, and both sides will continue to work hard in an effort to reach a settlement. Canada Post is maintaining normal operations and remains hopeful that a tentative agreement can be achieved without a work disruption.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are progressing. Negotiating around the clock, we have made progress, and both sides will continue to work hard during the next few days in an effort to reach a settlement.

However, as part of the normal communications process, we have notified employees that in the event of a strike:

• we will not continue to operate in urban (CUPW-staffed) offices
• we will continue to operate in rural Canada where offices will provide services on a local-to-local basis.

In the meantime, Canada Post is maintaining normal operations and remains hopeful that a tentative agreement can be achieved without a work disruption.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

Discussions between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) continue. Progress is being made and we remain optimistic that an agreement will be reached without a work stoppage.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

Discussions between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) continued throughout the weekend. Progress is being made and we remain optimistic that an agreement will be reached without a work stoppage.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

On Thursday, July 10, Canada Post received formal notice from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) of its intention to commence strike action as of July 18, 2003.

Normally, only 72 hours notice is required. By putting the Corporation on eight-days notice, the Union's intent is to reinforce its position at the bargaining table. This is a tactic on the part of the Union to increase pressure on the Corporation for further concessions.

Rest assured that over the next few days we will work around the clock to reach a negotiated settlement by early next week, well in advance of July 18.

Despite this latest tactic by the Union, negotiations are going well and we remain confident in our ability to get a deal.

We will continue to keep you advised as negotiations progress.

While discussions continue between the parties to address certain key issues, we have reached agreement in principle on many other items. Both parties are working very hard to arrive at a settlement in the near future.

Once again, it is important to note that the parties must provide at least 72 hours advance notice indicating the date on which a strike or lockout will occur. This does not mean a strike or lockout will actually occur. For employees and our customers it remains business as usual at Canada Post.

Once again, it is important to note that the parties must provide at least 72 hours advance notice indicating the date on which a strike or lockout will occur. This does not mean a strike or lockout will actually occur. For employees and our customers it remains business as usual at Canada Post.