The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has turned down a proposal of a ”cooling off” period followed by mediation that would have ended the rotating walkouts for a couple months.

Canada Post had set a deadline of 5 p.m. for the offer, that also came with a $1,000 bonus to each employee if all job action stopped until the end of January.

If mediation did not work, then the Crown Corporation was asking the union to agree to binding arbitration as of February.

The union rejected the idea, saying it prefers settling the dispute through collective bargaining.

”We are confident that an agreement can be reached,” said CUPW national president Mike Palecek, ”if only Canada Post would address the issues and stop looking for ways not to negotiate.”

Late last week Canada Post made another offer that was also rejected by the union, which proposed a counteroffer that was also turned down.

Canada Post says it has about 550 trucks of parcels waiting to be delivered.

The busiest time of the year for parcel service is between Black Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving, through the holiday season.