Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is calling on Canada Post and its union to return to the bargaining table to hash out terms for binding arbitration.

The two parties in the postal dispute are in a holding pattern, each proposing different methods of sizing up the latest offer from the company.

The union has suggested binding arbitration while Canada Post would prefer to see CUP-W send the offer to the membership for a vote.

Mike McDonald, president of the union in the metro region, says the national body saw something in the offer that it did not like and was not in the best interest of the workers, therefore the decision not to order a vote.

The company is proposing a wage increase of 14 per cent over four years while the union wants 19 per cent. CUP-W says inflation over that period has eaten away 18 per cent of the employees’ earning power.

Canada Post says it is losing hundreds of millions of dollars per year but McDonald says that’s more a matter of record spending on infrastructure.

“If you’re spending money on vehicles, buildings and other infrastructure, at some point you’re not going to spend money on these entities anymore,” says McDonald. “So the spending should level off because all you’ll be doing is upkeep and maintenance.”