Hopes for an end to rotating walkouts by Canada Post employees have been dashed.

Striking workers have rejected a call from Canada Post for a "cooling off'' period accompanied by mediated talks.

Earlier Monday, the Crown corporation said it would agree to a request from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers for another round of mediation, but only if striking workers end their rotating walkouts.

It also called for binding arbitration if no settlement is reached by the end of January.

In a statement, CUP-W national president Mike Palecek says the union isn't holding rotating strikes to harm the public.

But he says he won't ask his members to return to work under conditions that effectively have some employees working without compensation.

In a statement he says the proposal asks members to go back to work at the heaviest and most stressful time of year, under the same conditions that produce the highest injury rate in the federal sector.

The labour strife has seen mail and packages backed up at distribution centres across the country.

Canada Post proposed the so-called cooling off period, and binding arbitration should talks fail by January 31st, as pressure mounts to resolve the ongoing labour dispute ahead of the busy Christmas delivery season.

In a statement, the Crown corporation said it wanted CUP-W members to put down their picket signs while talks are on, and offered a special payment of up to one-thousand dollars for each member if there is no labour disruption while mediated talks are on.

Jessica McDonald, chair of the board of directors and interim president and C-E-O of Canada Post says with the rotating strikes, resulting backlogs, and the massive Black Friday and Cyber Monday volumes that will arrive within days, they are trying everything possible to work together with the union to deliver the holidays to Canadians.

--- With Files from The Canadian Press