(MENAFN- AFP) Canada's postal service on Monday called for a truce with striking workers to avert a disastrous holiday season for online retailers that rely on the carrier to deliver their wares.
The two sides have been in contract negotiations for nearly a year, with no success.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday major sales events just days away, Canada Post needs "urgently" to start reducing a massive delivery backlog if it hopes "to deliver the holidays to Canadians," its chair Jessica McDonald said in a statement.
It gave the union until 5.00 pm (2200 GMT) to respond to its proposal for a "cooling off period" through January in which the union would end rotating strikes and the two sides would resume mediation.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The strike, now entering a fifth week, has resulted in a delivery backlog of up to 30 days, with hundreds of trailers waiting to be unloaded outside sorting facilities.
Last week, after the union rejected its latest offer, Canada Post issued a plea for the rest of the world to stop sending in mail.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, meanwhile, is facing growing pressure from online retailers such as eBay to step in and legislate an end the walkout.
Canada Post delivers two-thirds of the nation's online shopping and the last six weeks of the year are its busiest due to the holiday rush.
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