After a month-long strike, thousands of Canada Post workers are set to return to their jobs, but the postal service is cautioning customers about significant delays in mail and parcel deliveries. As operations resume across the country at 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the Crown corporation has announced that it will prioritize the backlog of mail accumulated during the strike on a first-in, first-out basis.
Gradual resumption of services
Canada Post has indicated that while it will begin accepting new commercial mail on Thursday and new international mail on December 23, customers should brace themselves for delays that are expected to persist through the remainder of 2024 and into January 2025. The company has emphasized that stabilizing operations will take time due to the extensive network of processing plants, depots, and post offices involved in the delivery process. “We ask Canadians for their patience as we work through this backlog,” a spokesperson stated.
Government intervention and union response
The resumption of services follows an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), which mandated workers to return to their posts after a request from Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon. The CIRB’s ruling, issued on Sunday, highlighted that Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) were unlikely to reach a new agreement by the end of the year. CUPW has expressed disappointment with the decision and is currently challenging the government’s intervention to end the strike.
Wage increases and future negotiations
Under the CIRB order, existing collective agreements will be extended until May 2025, and Canada Post has proposed a five percent wage increase for employees, retroactive to the expiration of the previous agreements. This increase applies to the rural and suburban mail carriers (RSMC) unit, which expired on December 31, 2023, and the urban unit, which expired on January 31, 2024. In a recent post on social media, MacKinnon announced that an Industrial Inquiry Commission will investigate the structural issues surrounding the labor dispute, with a report expected by May 15. This report aims to provide a foundation for both parties to negotiate future agreements.
