THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED: The possibility of a postal strike or lockout starting Wednesday this week has been delayed as Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers continued negotiations over the long weekend.

CUPW submitted an offer to Canada Post management on Sunday and Canada Post said it would respond. CUPW then said it would delay the 72-hour notice required for a strike, meaning the earliest a strike could happen is Friday. UPDATE: CUPW said on Monday afternoon May 23 that a strike vote would be further delayed and not called for on Friday: "CPC has notified the Union that they are preparing a response to our Global Offer. In this context the CUPW National Executive Board has decided not to submit a 72 hour strike notice today.  Consequently there will be no strike activity on May 27th."

The union and Canada Post agreed last week that volunteer postal workers would deliver pension and social assistance cheques in the event of a strike.

Both sides have reiterated they are seeking a negotiated settlement for a new contract, to replace the previous collective agreement that expired Dec. 31. In general, Canada Post is seeking to reduce costs for new employees while grandfathering existing employees under current labour agreements. The post office faces declining revenues and increasing costs.

Canadian Press reports that the new CUPW offer covers all unresolved issues including wages and benefits, staffing levels and working conditions.

Canada Post is covering the negotiations on its web site here. CUPW information is available here.