Canada Post says some customers had already begun shifting to other delivery providers or cancelling mailings in anticipation of potential service disruptions.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Canada Post workers will be staying on the job, despite contract talks between the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers falling short.
In a statement Thursday night, CUPW said its members are being called on to refuse overtime work starting at midnight local time across the country. The news comes as the union was in a position to legally strike as of midnight.
“At this time, the union has decided to proceed with an overtime ban to minimize disruptions to the public and lost days for members,” the union said in a statement.
Canada Post and CUPW met with a mediator Thursday evening ahead of the midnight deadline. However, a spokesperson for Canada Post said the meeting lasted less than 30 minutes and “was unfortunately not enough to demonstrate meaningful progress.”
Canada Post said some customers had already begun shifting to other delivery providers or cancelling mailings in anticipation of potential service disruptions.
The most recent news follows a tumultuous two weeks at the bargaining table. On Monday, CUPW issued a strike notice notifying Canada Post that employees plan to strike starting midnight on Friday – exactly when the current collective agreement expires.
Canada Post responded on Wednesday by presenting a contract offer, after which CUPW requested a two-week “truce” to consider it. Canada Post declined the request.
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The two sides remain divided over several key issues, including wages, benefits and weekend delivery.
CUPW has previously asked for a wage increase of 19 per cent over four years, while Canada Post proposed 13.59 per cent over four years.
The two sides also still remain at odds over weekend delivery, a key sticking point in negotiations. While both Canada Post and CUPW support expanding weekend operations, they disagree on how to staff those shifts.
Canada Post wants to hire part-time workers to handle weekend deliveries, while the union is pushing for full-time employees to take on the work, accusing the corporation of trying to introduce a gig-style model to the postal service.
Canada Post employee Aurelia Arcaro of Rigaud, Que., rallies at Canada Post headquarters in Ottawa late last year. In December, postal workers were ordered back on the job after a request by then-labour minister Steve MacKinnon.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
More than 55,000 workers went on strike for 32 days over November and December of last year, coinciding with the busy holiday shopping season.
In December, the federal labour relations board ordered postal workers back on the job after a request by then-labour minister Steve MacKinnon.
That decision extended the existing collective agreement and triggered the formation of an industrial inquiry commission to figure out why talks have repeatedly failed.
The commission, led by labour negotiator and former University of Ottawa law professor William Kaplan, delivered its report publicly last Friday.
It recommended sweeping changes to Canada Post‘s business model, including phasing out daily door-to-door mail delivery to individual homes. While Canada Post praised the recommendations, the union pushed back, saying in a statement the report “skews heavily in favour of Canada Post‘s positions.”
The report painted a bleak picture of Canada Post‘s financial health: “Without thoughtful, measured, staged, but immediate changes, its fiscal situation will continue to deteriorate.”
The corporation has posted more than $3-billion in losses since 2018. In January, it received a $1.03-billion federal loan to stay afloat this year, and has warned it will need at least $1-billion annually starting in 2026 to remain viable.
Last year’s strike left everything from holiday gifts to passports stuck in processing for weeks. In 2023, Canada Post delivered an average of 8.5 million letters and 1.1 million parcels per weekday – about 29 per cent of the parcel market.