As the Canada Post strike drags into a fourth week, experts say thereB次元官网网址檚 growing pressure on the government to act as the business communityB次元官网网址檚 calls for intervention get louder.

So far Ottawa has said it wonB次元官网网址檛 step in, despite forcing people back to work in other recent high-profile labour disputes. But itB次元官网网址檚 getting harder for it to stay on the sidelines, said Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University.

B次元官网网址淭he pressure is certainly mounting on them to bring an end to the strike,B次元官网网址� said Eidlin.

The government recently intervened in major disputes in ports and rail by directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order binding arbitration.

But Eidlin said one key difference with this dispute is that while the Canada Post strike is certainly top of mind for many Canadians especially business owners, itB次元官网网址檚 not nearly as economically damaging as prolonged stoppages at ports and railways would have been.

In decades past, a Canada Post strike would have had much more widespread consequences B次元官网网址� particularly when most people received their pay via cheques, said Ian Lee, an associate professor at Carleton UniversityB次元官网网址檚 Sprott School of Business.

B次元官网网址淚n the B次元官网网址�60s through the B次元官网网址�90s, the post office was absolutely essential,B次元官网网址� said Lee, who has studied Canada Post for several decades and previously worked at the Crown corporation.

Those who do rely on it, though, are B次元官网网址渧ery, very dependentB次元官网网址� on it, he said.

Canada Post and the union representing more than 55,000 striking workers appeared closer to resuming negotiations Friday as the strike entered its fourth week.

Federal mediation was put on hold last week due to the sides being too far apart. This week the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said it sent new counter-proposals to the mediator in the hopes talks can resume, which Canada Post said itB次元官网网址檚 reviewing.

Calls for government intervention have been mounting from the business community, with groups like the Retail Council of Canada saying the strike is harming businesses more each day.

The governmentB次元官网网址檚 intervention in the port and rail disputes was controversial, and the unions involved in those disputes launched legal challenges in the wake of the governmentB次元官网网址檚 intervention.

The government may be feeling B次元官网网址渟ome remorseB次元官网网址� about its use of this tool, said Eidlin, B次元官网网址渁nd so they donB次元官网网址檛 want to just make this the default pattern.B次元官网网址�

Eidlin and others have warned that OttawaB次元官网网址檚 use of section 107 set a dangerous precedent that undermined collective bargaining.

Another thing that differentiates this strike from the port and rail disputes is that Canada Post itself has not joined in on the calls for intervention, noted Eidlin. In the rail and port disputes, the employers were among the parties asking Ottawa to step in.

Eidlin and Lee think thatB次元官网网址檚 because Canada Post doesnB次元官网网址檛 like its odds for binding arbitration.

B次元官网网址淚 think that they are assessing that it is unlikely that they will be able to get a favourable judgment in arbitration,B次元官网网址� Eidlin said, particularly when it comes to one of the biggest sticking points in negotiations so far: weekend delivery.

Canada Post has pitched weekend delivery as a way to increase its revenue and be more competitive. It says it wants to staff the weekend shifts with a mix of new permanent part-time positions and some full-time. But the union has accused Canada Post of trying to increase its part-time labour force instead of creating good full-time jobs.

Eidlin characterizes Canada PostB次元官网网址檚 pitch for weekend delivery as an attempt to create a second, lower tier of employment, and he thinks an arbitrator would be unlikely to grant it B次元官网网址済iven the corrosive effect it would have on the workforce.B次元官网网址�

Lee said the issue is existential for both Canada Post and the union. The Crown corporation needs to change or continue circling the drain, but the union doesnB次元官网网址檛 want to give up its hard-fought gains, he said.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no common ground. You canB次元官网网址檛 square the circle on this one,B次元官网网址� he said.

Over the years, government intervention in major labour disputes has been relatively common, said Eidlin, usually through back-to-work legislation. This is part of why business leaders are so quick to call for it, he said.

But thereB次元官网网址檚 also pressure on Canada Post and the union, he added B次元官网网址� and it seems to be working.

B次元官网网址淲e are seeing some movement at the negotiating table, which is exactly B次元官网网址� how these negotiations are supposed to work,B次元官网网址� he said.

If the two sides reached an agreement without intervention, it would set a new and healthier precedent, Eidlin said.

But Lee thinks the government could soon step in soon if the two sides donB次元官网网址檛 move closer together.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檒l probably cave in, because theyB次元官网网址檙e a minority government and theyB次元官网网址檙e way down in the polls,B次元官网网址� he said.