Canada Post to resume mail service Dec. 17

Canada Post employees have been ordered to return to work and resume operations by 8 p.m. local time Dec. 17.

The move follows a two-day hearing where the federal government asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to assess whether Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) were likely to reach a collective agreement by the end of the year. After determining an agreement was unlikely, CIRB ordered workers to resume mail service to Canadian while the parties work toward a resolution.

“We look forward to welcoming our employees back to work and serving the millions of Canadians and businesses who rely on our services,” Canada Post said in a statement. “While the terms of the existing collective agreements will be extended until May 22, 2025, we also put forward an offer to implement a wage increase of five per cent for employees, which was proposed in the company’s last global offer.”

With both parties in agreement when it comes to wages, Canada Post said the increase will be retroactive to the day after each collective agreement expired. The increase will be in effect going forward, and the retroactive portion will be paid out to current employees in two portions:

• An upfront payment before Christmas of $1,000 for all regular employees (full-time and part-time) and $500 for temporary employees based on a minimum number of hours
• The remainder of the retroactive pay to be forwarded by the end of January

Collective agreements between Canada Post and CUPW expired Dec. 31, 2023, for the RSMC (rural and suburban mail carriers) unit and Jan. 31, 2024, for the urban unit.

CUPW criticized the federal government’s move to call for the CIRB review, saying it was an “assault on our constitutionally protected right to collectively bargain and to strike.”

“This order continues a deeply troubling pattern in which the government uses its arbitrary powers to let employers off the hook, drag their feet and refuse to bargain in good faith with workers and their unions,” the union said in a statement.

CUPW issued the strike notice to Canada Post Nov. 12, with workers ceasing operation Nov. 15.