DHL stops deliveries in Canada amid strike, new law banning replacement workers

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 4:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

DHL Express Canada stopped transportation work crossed the state Friday arsenic workers proceed to onslaught and caller national authorities banning replacement workers comes into effect.

More than 2,000 DHL workers represented by Unifor — including motortruck drivers, couriers and warehouse and telephone centre employees — person been connected onslaught since June 8 aft the German-owned transportation institution locked them retired pursuing a breakdown successful negotiations with the union. 

DHL has tied the shutdown to the stalled negotiations arsenic good arsenic a caller national instrumentality barring replacement workers from filling the relation of federally regulated employees who are connected onslaught oregon locked out. 

Unifor has said its bargaining priorities with DHL revolve astir wages, moving conditions and surveillance and automation successful the workplace.

Unifor typical Balkar Bains, who was connected the picket enactment successful Brampton Friday, said the caller authorities has "empowered unions to beryllium capable to person just bargaining."

"Unfortunately, DHL is disregarding that."

DHL, whose 50,000 customers successful Canada see Lululemon, Shein and Siemens, continued operations for the archetypal twelve days of the enactment stoppage but began to upwind down earlier this week arsenic the authorities loomed. 

Unifor president Lana Payne says the institution had brought successful replacement workers — a assertion DHL has not denied — successful a determination she says was ineligible astatine the clip but undermined negotiations for fair wages.

Earlier this week, DHL wrote to Ottawa, asking the national authorities to let the institution to proceed operating contempt the ban, arguing the institution provides an indispensable service. 

In response, Unifor wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking that the national authorities not intervene, saying it would region the employer's inducement to negociate and settee a just contract.

DHL has not responded to CBC's petition for comment.

Stoppage affecting business, customers

The DHL transportation stoppage comes astatine a clip of turmoil for parcel transportation successful Canada, as Canada Post remains astatine loggerheads with the national that represents 55,000 of its workers.

That, on with the ongoing commercialized warfare betwixt the United States and Canada, has been costly for Holly Rockbrune, who owns an antique store successful Pickering, Ont. She says astir 70 per cent of her clients are American.

"We're perpetually having to update however we grip things," Rockbrune said this week. "All of these shipping issues combined truly conscionable marque things precise hard to tally a business." 

She says she's had to commencement utilizing smaller, backstage shipping companies that are sometimes doubly arsenic costly arsenic DHL successful bid to support her customers.

"Our orders are down, our bid numbers are down, the values are down," she said. 

The DHL onslaught and shutdown has besides already caused problems for customers, similar Prateek Mahajan, who says helium and his fiancée were expected to get their wedding apparel delivered Friday. He was astatine the company's Brampton warehouse successful the greeting successful hopes they'd arrived, but helium says DHL wouldn't assistance him.

"It's my wedding time morning," helium said. "They are not entertaining maine astatine all. It's horrible."