EBay wants users to urge PM to legislate end to Canada Post contract dispute

EBay Canada is urging sellers to write the prime minister to legislate an end to the ongoing contract impasse between Canada Post and unionized workers.

In an online petition on its site, eBayCanada said Monday it wants Canadian users to press JustinTrudeau"totake action to restore confidence in Canada's postal service."

Following months of talks without reaching a deal, the Canadian Union of Postal Workerson Thursdayissued a 72-hour strike notice, saying workerswould begin job action on Monday if an agreementcould not be reached over the weekend. The union said rotating job action, involving the refusal ofovertime work, would begin in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

• Postal workers delay possible job action for 24 hours
• Canada Post neitheressential norirrelevant
• Canada Post's relationship with its workers is blighted by 'underlying toxicity'

The union'sdeadlinewas subsequently extended late Sunday nightby another 24 hours as CUPW and the Crown corporationworked with aid of federallyappointed mediator William Kaplan and Guy Baron, director general ofFederal Mediation and Conciliation Services.

In the posting on its site, eBay Canada says:"For months, Canadian businesses like yours have had to deal with the implications of the ongoing negotiations between Canada Post Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers."

"With job action possible in the next [24 hours], the time is right for the prime minister to initiate an alternative solution," the post says.

Wage parity and pensionsare two of the biggest issues in the Canada Post talks.

Last week, a group representingCanadian small businesses urged them to prepare for the possibility of a disruption in postal services.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business called for a speedy resolution to the contract situation and said it was opening up its normally members-only courier price comparison service to allindependent Canadian businesses until Oct.1.

• You've got no mail: What you need to know about a work stoppage at Canada Post