Canada Post workers could strike again soon. Here's why

CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 11:43 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

After striking workers took to picket lines and a "couple million" packages piled up conscionable earlier Christmas past year, Canada Post is backmost astatine the dialog array with the national representing its employees this week.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the postal work are trying to scope a woody connected a caller corporate statement earlier their aged 1 runs retired connected May 22.

The onslaught successful precocious 2024 ended erstwhile the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered the 2 sides backmost to enactment connected Dec. 15. It besides extended the corporate agreements betwixt the workers and their leader until May 22, which is what employees person been moving nether ever since.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon besides established an concern enquiry committee successful bid to get a amended knowing of Canada Post's fiscal troubles, and wherefore negotiations person not been palmy frankincense far. That commission's findings volition travel retired connected May 15.

The hold of the aged corporate statement and its nearing expiry day are wherefore the 2 sides are negotiating erstwhile again.

In different words, the bid backmost to enactment was much similar a intermission of the strike, according to Hena Singh, an employment lawyer and mediator.

LISTEN | Is Canada Post doomed?:

"We had a intermission successful the negotiations and the authorities sent everyone backmost to enactment to spell done this committee process. And past present they're each coming backmost to the table," Singh said.

Singh adds that portion it's not abnormal for the authorities to bid employees backmost to enactment — that's however the caller obstruction workers onslaught and the B.C. larboard onslaught ended, for illustration — it is uncommon for them to name a committee to get to the basal of the issue.

If the 2 sides don't travel to an statement by May 22, Canada Post workers could spell connected onslaught again.

Since December, the 2 sides person had a fewer meetings to effort and scope a deal. Talks connected March 1 and 2 ended without immoderate caller agreement. The meetings connected Wednesday and Thursday of this week were the adjacent rounds of negotiations.

How person talks been going?

We don't person nonstop details connected the astir caller rounds of negotiations, arsenic some Canada Post and the national person not fixed immoderate updates astir this week's talks.

Ahead of negotiations, the national representing Canada Post's workers said it remained committed to achieving its goals of securing an statement that would springiness workers "fair wages, wellness and information protections, occupation security, and the close to discontinue with dignity."

"It's nary concealed that this has been a challenging circular of bargaining for each of us," CUPW said successful a property release. It added that the meetings scheduled for April 31 and May 1 could proceed if advancement was being made. At the clip of writing, neither Canada station oregon CUPW had replied to questions from CBC regarding whether oregon not talks would proceed connected Friday.

Canada Post besides released a connection connected April 29 saying the 2 sides were gathering with the assistance of a mediator.

"Canada Post is committed to the bargaining process and is striving to scope caller corporate agreements that volition assistance america amended service the changing needs of Canadians portion providing bully jobs to those who supply that service," Lisa Liu, a spokesperson for Canada Post, said successful a written connection to CBC News.

The March negotiations, however, broke down into much disagreement betwixt the 2 sides. The national said astatine the clip that it offered "meaningful proposals" that would assistance Canada Post supply postal deliveries connected the weekends (something that's been a sticking constituent truthful acold successful the negotiations), but said the crown corp pushed for "serious rollbacks" that would wounded jobs.

For its part, Canada Post said successful March that the national failed to admit challenges the institution faces. The postal work has mislaid $3 cardinal since 2018 arsenic backstage carriers person eaten into the bundle transportation market, and arsenic missive message goes away. Canada Post besides antecedently warned that it could tally retired of wealth arsenic soon arsenic the 2nd 4th of 2025.

Rich Appiah, main of employment and labour instrumentality steadfast Appiah Law successful Toronto, says it's apt the thought of delivering postage connected weekends is inactive a sticking point. In the fall, the national expressed interest that regular postal deliveries would unfastened the doorway to Canada Post hiring declaration workers — thing a national ne'er wants, according to Appiah.

"If [that] remains thing that's connected the array … past I tin ideate that the national volition combat bony and nail against immoderate imaginable contracting out," Appiah said.

How apt is different strike?

Appiah says it's hard to foretell whether we mightiness spot different onslaught by Canada Post. He says that unions and employers often usage the menace of a onslaught oregon lockout arsenic a instrumentality successful negotiations, truthful it's not uncommon for 2 sides to travel to last-minute agreements and debar a enactment stoppage successful the 11th hour.

Ahead of a imaginable strike, immoderate companies that nonstop retired insubstantial statements successful the message (especially fiscal institutions, specified as banks) person begun sending notices to their customers, informing of the imaginable enactment stoppage.

Many of the institutions urge switching to e-statements, oregon nonstop consumers to cheque websites oregon apps for accusation usually sent by mail, successful the lawsuit of different strike.

But Singh says the findings successful the commission's study could assistance talks and debar a strike.

The negotiations, to her understanding, person stalled due to the fact that the national is making requests that the institution says it can't realistically present connected owed to its fiscal situation. Given the enquiry volition excavation into Canada Post's concern exemplary and finances, Singh says the study could assistance the 2 parties travel to an understanding.

"It volition beryllium valuable, I think, for [the union] to recognize what the circumstances are of the Canada Post … truthful that the negotiations tin bespeak that," Singh said.

Singh says the interruption successful clip since the past circular of negotiations and the information that the parties are moving with a mediator are each factors that mightiness beryllium helping the existent talks. She says the interaction of the onslaught successful the autumn connected the nationalist is besides apical of caput for some parties, who cognize that businesses and individuals who can't usage their services could pivot to different couriers and perchance instrumentality with them adjacent aft a onslaught ends.

"The world is … I don't deliberation either broadside wants a onslaught oregon a lockout," Singh said. "It [would] little nationalist assurance successful them."

If workers bash onslaught again, Appiah explains that there's thing preventing the authorities from ordering the employees backmost to enactment a 2nd time.

"It's ever a possibility, particularly with a caller authorities that seems rather acrophobic astir the economy," Appiah said.