The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has issued a 72-hour notice of job action.
The notice was issued on Aug. 25, hours before its current strike mandate expired.
If Canada Post and the union do not reach an agreement by Monday, mail and parcel delivery will be disrupted across Canada.
On Wednesday, federal Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk offered to appoint a special mediator to help the two sides negotiate a new collective agreement.
“We hope the assistance of a neutral third party will help both parties address the real challenges facing the postal service caused by declining mail volumes and increasing pension obligations,” said Serge Pitre, vice-president of sales for Canada Post.
The job action would affect 51,000 urban and rural postal workers.
The issues in this dispute are the implementation of a defined contribution retirement plan for new employees and the creation of new positions for evening and weekend deliveries.
The union has not yet specified the nature of the job action to be taken.
Five years ago, in the summer of 2011, the union held rotating strikes until Canada Post imposed a lockout. The federal government passed back-to-work legislation, which was later deemed unconstitutional.
Earlier this summer, as the threat of a postal disruption loomed, Lorrie Coates, Summerland’s chief financial officer, said a disruption could affect those paying and utility bills.
The discount period will be extended during the first month of a strike, but if the strike continues into a second month or longer, the discount period will not be extended during those months.
In the event of a postal strike, Summerland Review subscribers can pick up copies of their papers at the Summerland Review office, 13226 Victoria Rd. N. or at the Summerland Legion, 14205 Rosedale Ave.
All content from the paper, as well as additional stories and photographs, can also be found online at summerlandreview.com, with updates also posted to the Summerland Review’s Facebook page.