Winnipeg postal workers are urging Canada Post to return to the bargaining table as the national union that represents them is set to go on strike.

Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers held a rally in front of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly on Sunday.

The union was in a legal strike position on Sunday, but CUPW and the employer agreed that each party would have to give 72 hours’ notice before a strike or lockout.

The union said Friday that while it had not yet issued a notice, it was prepared to do so if negotiations failed.

Winnipeg Local 856 president Sean Tugby said Canada Post’s latest wage increase offer was below the rate of inflation and pensions and benefits would both see cuts.

“It took over 20 years for wages to increase by $5 an hour,” Tugby told workers at the rally. “Currently at Costco there are people pushing shopping carts who make more money than mail carriers who take a ridiculous number of steps every day.”

CUPW said in a statement released earlier this week that Canada Post’s offer of annual wage increases of 11.5 per cent over four years falls far short of what it demands.

The union also took issue with the employer’s proposal to submit several items to binding arbitration, saying it hurt its chances of getting a good deal.

Preliminary results of a union vote released last week showed that more than 95 per cent of urban and rural CUPW workers supported a strike mandate.

“We are here for a contract, not to burden our customers”

Tugby told CBC News the union is fighting for better conditions. He said the routes were getting longer and “it was almost untenable.”

“Our workers are suffering…It’s creating challenges when it comes to child care,” he said. “We ask to work in daylight. We ask to be able to work safely. And we ask for a contract for the work that we provide.”

Tugby said they don’t want the labor dispute to continue into the peak holiday season and the union is working to alleviate any pressure that might result from a work stoppage.

“We’ve been waiting at the table for over a year now,” he said. “We are here for a contract, not to burden our customers.”

Jeff Didham, an interior postal worker who has worked at Canada Post for more than a decade, said the employer has plenty of time to reach a deal.

“We are the middle class. We deserve to have a future,” he said. “And the new people that come in are just going to get screwed.”

Canada Post said the negotiations come at a critical time for the Crown corporation, as it faces financial and operational challenges amid competition for other parcel delivery services.

In a press release issued earlier this week, the company said it had lost more than $3 billion since 2018.