By The Canadian Press
August 05, 2025
A Canada Post employee prepares to check a street letter box while delivering mail, in White Rock, B.C., on Monday, July 28, 2025. Unionized workers at Canada Post rejected the Crown corporatin's latest offers in a forced ratification vote.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
OTTAWA — Labour experts say another postal service strike is unlikely after unionized Canada Post workers rejected their employer’s latest round of offers in a forced vote and the parties mull their next steps.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that the roughly 55,000 members represented by the union shot down the Canada Post’s latest proposal, which would’ve seen wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years and restructuring to add part-time workers to the deal.
Some 68.5 per cent of urban mail carriers who voted were against the deal, while their rural and suburban colleagues were 69.4 per cent against.
Adam King, assistant professor in the labour studies program at the University of Manitoba, said the forced ratification vote ordered by the federal government and administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board was a “distraction.”
“Hopefully, at the end of the day, we see an agreement reached at the table — where it should have been in the beginning,” he said in an interview.
“Canada Post management is really going to have to put something on the table that the union actually thinks members will accept.”
Negotiations for a new collective agreement have been ongoing for more than a year and a half. The federal government asked CIRB to step in and scuttle a holiday season postal strike late last year, but the parties remain at an impasse.
The Crown corporation requested Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu send its most recent proposals from late May — calling them the “final offers” — to a forced vote from workers.
Canada Post said in a statement Friday that it was “disappointed” in the vote results and that it was weighing its next steps.
CUPW said in a bulletin to members last week that its negotiators are ready to head back to the bargaining table.
A national ban on overtime work, in place since CUPW entered a strike position in late May, will continue in the meantime.
King acknowledged that while the vote didn’t go in Canada Post’s favour, it wasn’t a “resounding” rejection, with more than 30 per cent of voters coming out in favour of the deals as presented.
Larry Savage, professor in the department of labour studies at Brock University, said that apparent division in the ranks of CUPW would make it difficult to get members on a picket line.
“Even if you could effectively organize a strike, it’s not obvious to me that it would produce the results the union’s looking for,” Savage said in an interview.
Before Hajdu sent Canada Post’s offers to a vote, she had asked the parties to come to terms for binding arbitration to put an end to the dispute.
CUPW was broadly in favour of sending talks to arbitration but Canada Post pushed back, arguing it would tie negotiations up in a lengthy process.
Canada Post has warned that uncertainty around the fate of contract talks continues to cost the struggling postal service millions of dollars in business each day as customers shift to competitors.
The Crown corporation’s financial woes have been well-documented throughout the talks. An Industrial Inquiry Commission report from Commissioner William Kaplan earlier this year found the postal service was effectively bankrupt and needed substantial reforms to remain afloat.
But King said arbitrators tend to be “conservative” in bringing parties to a middle ground and are unlikely to make the kinds of sweeping, structural changes Canada Post is looking for in a new deal.
Savage agreed that “binding arbitration is not actually a long-term solution to the problems at Canada Post.”
“I think that management’s forced final vote was a gamble and it blew up in their faces, but they still hold cards,” he said.
Canada Post could unilaterally impose new contract terms and “dare the union to strike,” Savage said, or could start laying off workers as its business falters.
“Both of those strategies would put tremendous pressure on the union to reach an agreement,” he said.
“The danger, of course, for Canada Post is that its aggressive tactics thus far have seemingly only driven the parties further apart.”
Hajdu said in a statement Friday that the federal government expects the parties to get back to the negotiating table and find a resolution “as soon as possible.”
Given the financial struggles mentioned in the report, Savage said he expects the federal government will look to restructure Canada Post’s mandate after the current labour dispute wraps up.
That could see, as suggested in Kaplan’s report, a further expansion of community mailboxes or an end to daily door-to-door delivery.
In that context, Savage said the negotiations are less about which side wins the day and more about “who will survive long-term.”
“There is a storm brewing for both Canada Post’s management and the union. And I think that getting over this hump is important, but I think that it pales in comparison to what’s coming,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Labour experts say another postal service strike is unlikely after unionized Canada Post workers rejected their employer’s latest round of offers in a forced vote and the parties mull their next steps.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that the roughly 55,000 members represented by the union shot down the Canada Post’s latest proposal, which would’ve seen wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years and restructuring to add part-time workers to the deal.
Some 68.5 per cent of urban mail carriers who voted were against the deal, while their rural and suburban colleagues were 69.4 per cent against.
Adam King, assistant professor in the labour studies program at the University of Manitoba, said the forced ratification vote ordered by the federal government and administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board was a “distraction.”
“Hopefully, at the end of the day, we see an agreement reached at the table — where it should have been in the beginning,” he said in an interview.
“Canada Post management is really going to have to put something on the table that the union actually thinks members will accept.”
Negotiations for a new collective agreement have been ongoing for more than a year and a half. The federal government asked CIRB to step in and scuttle a holiday season postal strike late last year, but the parties remain at an impasse.
The Crown corporation requested Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu send its most recent proposals from late May — calling them the “final offers” — to a forced vote from workers.
Canada Post said in a statement Friday that it was “disappointed” in the vote results and that it was weighing its next steps.
CUPW said in a bulletin to members last week that its negotiators are ready to head back to the bargaining table.
A national ban on overtime work, in place since CUPW entered a strike position in late May, will continue in the meantime.
King acknowledged that while the vote didn’t go in Canada Post’s favour, it wasn’t a “resounding” rejection, with more than 30 per cent of voters coming out in favour of the deals as presented.
Larry Savage, professor in the department of labour studies at Brock University, said that apparent division in the ranks of CUPW would make it difficult to get members on a picket line.
“Even if you could effectively organize a strike, it’s not obvious to me that it would produce the results the union’s looking for,” Savage said in an interview.
Before Hajdu sent Canada Post’s offers to a vote, she had asked the parties to come to terms for binding arbitration to put an end to the dispute.
CUPW was broadly in favour of sending talks to arbitration but Canada Post pushed back, arguing it would tie negotiations up in a lengthy process.
Canada Post has warned that uncertainty around the fate of contract talks continues to cost the struggling postal service millions of dollars in business each day as customers shift to competitors.
The Crown corporation’s financial woes have been well-documented throughout the talks. An Industrial Inquiry Commission report from Commissioner William Kaplan earlier this year found the postal service was effectively bankrupt and needed substantial reforms to remain afloat.
But King said arbitrators tend to be “conservative” in bringing parties to a middle ground and are unlikely to make the kinds of sweeping, structural changes Canada Post is looking for in a new deal.
Savage agreed that “binding arbitration is not actually a long-term solution to the problems at Canada Post.”
“I think that management’s forced final vote was a gamble and it blew up in their faces, but they still hold cards,” he said.
Canada Post could unilaterally impose new contract terms and “dare the union to strike,” Savage said, or could start laying off workers as its business falters.
“Both of those strategies would put tremendous pressure on the union to reach an agreement,” he said.
“The danger, of course, for Canada Post is that its aggressive tactics thus far have seemingly only driven the parties further apart.”
Hajdu said in a statement Friday that the federal government expects the parties to get back to the negotiating table and find a resolution “as soon as possible.”
Given the financial struggles mentioned in the report, Savage said he expects the federal government will look to restructure Canada Post’s mandate after the current labour dispute wraps up.
That could see, as suggested in Kaplan’s report, a further expansion of community mailboxes or an end to daily door-to-door delivery.
In that context, Savage said the negotiations are less about which side wins the day and more about “who will survive long-term.”
“There is a storm brewing for both Canada Post’s management and the union. And I think that getting over this hump is important, but I think that it pales in comparison to what’s coming,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
Canada Post workers vote to reject latest contract offer
By The Canadian Press
August 02, 2025
Unionized workers at Canada Post have voted to reject the Crown corporation’s latest contract offer.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that 68.5 per cent of urban mail carriers who voted were against the deal, while their rural and suburban colleagues were 69.4 per cent against.
The offer included wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years but also added part-time workers that Canada Post has said are necessary to keep the postal service afloat.
The union had urged the roughly 55,000 postal service workers it represents to reject the proposal.
“It’s time for Canada Post to come back to the bargaining table and start seriously negotiating,” it said in a bulletin.
“With these votes behind us, Canada Post must now recognize that the only way forward is to negotiate ratifiable collective agreements that meet postal workers’ needs.”
A national overtime ban for members remains in effect.
Canada Post had said the offer reflected the company’s “current realities while protecting items that are important to employees” and accounting for “needed changes to help begin to rebuild the company’s parcel business.”
The Crown corporation has previously said its operating losses amounted to $10 million a day in June.
“While we are disappointed in the results, we want to thank employees for participating in the process,” the postal service said in a statement on Friday, adding that it’s evaluating next steps.
The vote, which opened July 21, was administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which stepped in earlier this year after federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu intervened in the labour dispute.
Hajdu said Friday that after 18 months of negotiations, “it was important for workers’ voices to be heard.”
“Federal mediators have supported parties since August 2024 and will remain available to assist the parties until they reach a deal,” Hajdu said in a statement.
“The government is monitoring this situation closely and expects the parties to reach a resolution as soon as possible.”
Canada Post and the union have been at odds with one another for more than a year and a half.
Last holiday season, postal workers went on strike, leaving mail and parcels undelivered and many post offices closed.
They returned to work the week before Christmas, when the labour minister established a process with the Canada Industrial Relations Board to assess the likelihood of Canada Post and the union reaching an agreement by the end of 2024.
The board, led by Commissioner William Kaplan, eventually found that Canada Post was essentially bankrupt.
The board’s final report tabled in May showed Kaplan recommended an end to daily door-to-door mail delivery and an expansion of community mailboxes, among other measures to keep the postal service in business.
He also endorsed Canada Post’s model for adding part-time mail workers — one sticking point in negotiations — and largely blamed the stalled negotiations on CUPW defending “business as usual.”
Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, called Friday’s results “extremely disappointing.”
“This just brings more uncertainty at a time when small businesses are already struggling to plan ahead,” Kelly said in a statement.
“We can’t keep doing this. If there’s another strike, two in three businesses may walk away from Canada Post permanently.”
Kelly called on the federal government to extend the current agreement for the “foreseeable future” to prevent another strike from happening.
By The Canadian Press
August 02, 2025
Unionized workers at Canada Post have voted to reject the Crown corporation’s latest contract offer.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that 68.5 per cent of urban mail carriers who voted were against the deal, while their rural and suburban colleagues were 69.4 per cent against.
The offer included wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years but also added part-time workers that Canada Post has said are necessary to keep the postal service afloat.
The union had urged the roughly 55,000 postal service workers it represents to reject the proposal.
“It’s time for Canada Post to come back to the bargaining table and start seriously negotiating,” it said in a bulletin.
“With these votes behind us, Canada Post must now recognize that the only way forward is to negotiate ratifiable collective agreements that meet postal workers’ needs.”
A national overtime ban for members remains in effect.
Canada Post had said the offer reflected the company’s “current realities while protecting items that are important to employees” and accounting for “needed changes to help begin to rebuild the company’s parcel business.”
The Crown corporation has previously said its operating losses amounted to $10 million a day in June.
“While we are disappointed in the results, we want to thank employees for participating in the process,” the postal service said in a statement on Friday, adding that it’s evaluating next steps.
The vote, which opened July 21, was administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which stepped in earlier this year after federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu intervened in the labour dispute.
Hajdu said Friday that after 18 months of negotiations, “it was important for workers’ voices to be heard.”
“Federal mediators have supported parties since August 2024 and will remain available to assist the parties until they reach a deal,” Hajdu said in a statement.
“The government is monitoring this situation closely and expects the parties to reach a resolution as soon as possible.”
Canada Post and the union have been at odds with one another for more than a year and a half.
Last holiday season, postal workers went on strike, leaving mail and parcels undelivered and many post offices closed.
They returned to work the week before Christmas, when the labour minister established a process with the Canada Industrial Relations Board to assess the likelihood of Canada Post and the union reaching an agreement by the end of 2024.
The board, led by Commissioner William Kaplan, eventually found that Canada Post was essentially bankrupt.
The board’s final report tabled in May showed Kaplan recommended an end to daily door-to-door mail delivery and an expansion of community mailboxes, among other measures to keep the postal service in business.
He also endorsed Canada Post’s model for adding part-time mail workers — one sticking point in negotiations — and largely blamed the stalled negotiations on CUPW defending “business as usual.”
Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, called Friday’s results “extremely disappointing.”
“This just brings more uncertainty at a time when small businesses are already struggling to plan ahead,” Kelly said in a statement.
“We can’t keep doing this. If there’s another strike, two in three businesses may walk away from Canada Post permanently.”
Kelly called on the federal government to extend the current agreement for the “foreseeable future” to prevent another strike from happening.
No comments:
Post a Comment