Canada Post workers go on strike, negotiations still underway
'Not looking at any other solution other than negotiation,' says labour minister
Canada Post workers went on strike early Friday after failing to reach an agreement with their employer, shutting down the corporation's mail service across the country.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) says approximately 55,000 workers in its urban, rural and suburban mail carrier bargaining units are off the job, saying little progress has been made during bargaining.
"Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day," the union said in a statement. "Instead, Canada Post left us no choice when it threatened to change our working conditions and leave our members exposed to layoffs."
Mail and parcels, the Crown corporation said, will not be processed or delivered during the strike, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees will be affected for items already in the postal network and no new items will be accepted.
The strike action comes ahead of Black Friday and the beginning of the holiday season, when Canadians rely on the postal service to send and receive gifts, packages and cards.
The company said in a statement Friday the shutdown will affect millions of Canadians and businesses.
- What impact is the Canada Post strike having on you? What should be done about it? Leave your story, questions and opinions here and you might be featured on Cross Country Checkup's Nov. 17 show.
The union and the company have agreed that some benefit cheques will still be mailed out during the strike, including for the Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan. However, the arrangement only includes government organizations that signed up to participate ahead of the strike.
Once operations resume, the corporation said, mail and parcels will be delivered on a first-come, first-serve basis, but "a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends."
'Our demands are reasonable'
Both parties are still at the negotiating table and talks continue.
The two sides began talks toward a new contract on Nov. 15, 2023.
Workers gave Canada Post a 72-hour strike notice on Tuesday, as the Crown corporation warned that a potential strike would further impact its already dire financial situation.
Canada Post served the union with a lockout notice not long after but said it didn't intend to lock workers out.
Company spokesperson Jon Hamilton confirmed to CBC News that both parties were still negotiating as of midday Friday.
"There's a closed sign at Canada Post and that's killing us," said Hamilton. "This is the holiday season. So this is a big season for Canada Post, it's a big season for our employees, it's a big season for Canadians and we are essentially out of the market. So that's a huge problem and is only going to exacerbate the situation that we already found ourselves in."
Canada Post says it has lost $490 million in the first half of 2024, part of a total $3 billion lost since 2018. The company says a strike will only further contribute to its already dire financial circumstances, and that the unions demands will lead to more fixed costs that Canada Post can't afford.
Meanwhile, CUPW representatives say that the Crown corporation's executives are still accepting bonuses, and that the company can dig itself out of its financial situation by offering expanded services to Canadians.
"We are at the table because we know the best way to get a collective agreement in place is by both sides negotiating the contract," said CUPW president Jan Simpson.
In an updated statement late Friday, the union also said Canada Post has said it will no longer honour collective agreements as of 8 a.m. ET. It claimed the corporation could cancel vacation time and is "threatening" to lay-off employees.
"Canada Post has shown its true stripes. The boss is not your friend," it said.
CUPW was in a legal strike position as of Nov. 3, after a legally mandated cooling-off period. In a vote last month, more than 95 per cent of both urban and rural workers backed a strike mandate, the union has said.
Canada Post's latest contract offer included annual wage increases that amounted to 11.5 per cent over four years. It also offered protection of the defined benefit pension for current employees, as well as job security and health benefits.
CUPW said that wasn't enough and that the two parties remain far apart on several issues.
"Our demands are reasonable: fair wages, safe working conditions, the right to retire with dignity, and the expansion of services at the public post office," it said in its statement.
No plans for back-to-work bill right now
During previous work stoppages in 2011 and 2018, the federal government passed legislation which sent Canada Post employees back to work. So far, government officials say they have no plans to introduce legislation to end the strike.
"I'm not looking at any other solution other than negotiation right now," Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon told reporters in Montreal on Friday morning.
"Every day is a new day in collective bargaining, and we are going to continue to support the parties in any way we can and make sure that they are able to try and get a negotiated agreement."
A special mediator has been appointed to support the two sides, MacKinnon confirmed ahead of the strike.
Mark Lubinski, the Toronto local president of CUPW, said that Canada Post workers have fallen behind as the cost of living has gone up, with high rent and inflation leaving employees "unable to survive."
"We're prepared to be out here as long as we need to be," Lubinski told CBC News.
He said Canada Post workers know that they provide an essential service and that they have no other choice after a year of negotiations with the Crown corporation.
"The climate seems to be that Canada Post and other employers are waiting for the government to legislate us back to work," Lubinski said. "We want to negotiate a fair contract for our workers."
With files from The Canadian Press and Jon Azpiri
.png)