Mail delivery service resumes as Canada Post employees forced back to work

Bargaining will begin again in May 2025

⭐️HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW⭐️

• Canada Post employees are back at work today. 
• They had been on strike for four weeks.
• While they’re getting a pay increase, their fight isn’t over. 
• Keep reading to understand why. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Canadians far and wide may start getting mail just in time for Christmas, but the news isn’t all cheery and jolly for everyone involved.

After a month of being on strike, Canada Post employees are returning to work today even though their union hasn’t reached a deal with Canada Post. 

Some 55,000 workers will receive a five per cent increase in pay until May.

Between now and then, the hope is that the two sides will reach a deal.

Why the strike?

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) represents the striking mail carriers.

They made several demands, including a wage increase due to the rising cost of living.

Canada Post argued that they didn’t have the funds to meet the demands of the union after years of financial struggle.

You can read more details about the strike in our initial coverage here. 

What changed?

The strike has had an impact on everyday Canadians and businesses across the country.

Four weeks without postal workers means no packages or letters were arriving at Canadian homes.

It also means businesses that rely on Canada Post’s low fees to ship their products were seeing fewer sales.

On Friday, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon told the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order Canada Post employees back to work if a deal wasn’t reached by the end of the year.

The CUPW said they weren’t happy with the government’s decision to intervene in their negotiations with Canada Post. (Image credit: Felix Desroches/CBC) 

After two days of hearings this past weekend, the CIRB determined that the negotiations between Canada Post and the union had stalled.

As such, the CIRB ordered Canada Post employees back to work until May 22, 2025.

What’s next?

It’s unclear when mail delivery will go back to normal, since postal workers have to deal with a four-week backlog. 

Canada Post said it will start picking up new mail as of Dec. 19 and will update Canadians with more specific timelines this week.

In the meantime, the government has issued an inquiry into the negotiations to determine what is preventing an agreement between Canada Post and the CUPW.

In a statement, the CUPW said that the government’s intervention in the negotiations was a violation of worker’s rights. 

“This order continues a deeply troubling pattern in which successive federal governments have used back-to-work legislation or, in this case, its arbitrary powers to let employers off the hook from bargaining in good faith,” they said on their website. 

Canada Post said they are committed to reaching an agreement with its employees in the spring. 

Have more questions? Want to tell us how we’re doing? Use the “send us feedback” link below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

With files from The Canadian Press
TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Ben Nelms/CBC