"What this means is that we now will skip conciliation and go directly to mediation," says David Esposti, the CWA Canada staff representative who has been involved in the negotiations.
Mediation is scheduled for May 10 − 13, with a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. May 14.
An attempt by Postmedia Network to eliminate an early-retirement provision in their contracts has galvanized members of the three unions, including the Windsor Typographical Union (WTU). Those 72 members, who work in the mailroom, face an additional threat in that the company wants to reduce part-time hopper feeders' guaranteed minimum shift from four hours to three.
The WTU, the Canadian Auto Workers, which represents staff in the newsroom, advertising and business office, and the Communications Energy and Paperworkers (pressroom), on March 27 collectively voted 96 per cent in favour of giving their joint council a strike mandate.