OTTAWA—The postal union said yesterday negotiations with Canada Post have taken "steps backwards" as 24-hour rotating strikes have hit Moncton, N.B. and Victoria, B.C.

"Today, after reviewing our June 3 proposals for three days, (Canada Post) totally rejected our offer," reads CUPW's site. "They made virtually no effort to bring the parties closer together, and in fact, reneged on several of their previous proposals with respect to staffing."

For its part, Canada Post said the union's latest proposals "remain too expensive and fail to address the challenges facing the postal system.

"The union’s latest offer does not offer realistic solutions to problems such as declining mail volumes, increasing competition, and electronic substitutions of traditional mail."
   
Canada Post has informed the union that the corporation is willing to scrap a proposal to create more part-time positions to help the service adapt to a drop in mail volumes. Approximately 85 per cent of the jobs in CUPW’s urban bargaining unit are full-time positions, according to Canada Post.

The union did say Canada Post has also taken some steps forward, including setting the table for a financial services study to be jointly conducted by the parties.

The strikes in Moncton and Victoria are expected to end at midnight tonight, while a 24-hour strike in Montreal was set to end at 11:30 EDT last night. CUPW is expected to announce the target of tomorrow's rotating strike at 6 p.m. EDT today.