Canada Post Workers Could Strike Ahead of Shopping Season | Transport Topics

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The upcoming holiday season could be disrupted by a looming strike at Canada’s largest domestic shipping company.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued strike notices to Canada Post Corp. on Nov. 12, putting the employees in a legal position to walk out as early as midnight Ottawa time Nov. 15.

Canada Post said its parcel volumes dropped by 28% last week, compared to the same period a year ago, as customers turned to competitors to avoid delays. It expects the decline to accelerate.

The strike notices came the same day as Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon ordered the country’s independent labor board to end lockouts at Canada’s largest ports. But for now, the minister is letting negotiations continue.

“We are hoping to achieve a deal at the table,” MacKinnon said. “We will make every effort possible to keep them at the table and keep them talking. We hope to achieve a negotiated settlement there.”

The two parties are still “far apart” on key issues, including wage increases, cost-of-living increases, and paid meals and rest periods for employees working five hours or more, the union said in the statement.

In a separate Nov. 12 statement, Canada Post warned customers may experience delays in the event of a labor disruption because the shutdown of facilities or regions can cause “immediate and prolonged ripple effects throughout the network.”

Canada Post said it’s rapidly falling behind in the highly competitive, customer-focused parcel delivery market. In the first half of 2024, the company recorded a loss from operations of C$490 million. Since 2018, it has lost more than C$3 billion.