Federal government asks labour board to intervene in Canada Post strike

The federal labour minister has decided to intervene in the Canada Post strike, now on its 29th day.

Steven MacKinnon says the Crown Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are at an impasse after a nearly month-long work stoppage, and negotiations are going in the wrong direction.

The labour minister says union members will be asked to return to work on Monday under their previous agreement, which would be extended until May 2025.

MacKinnon says people across Canada—especially small businesses, people in remote communities, and Indigenous people—have suffered due to the strike. He’s asked the board to make a decision quickly and hopes the mail will be delivered again starting next week.

MacKinnon initially rebuffed calls for Ottawa to intervene, saying it’s up to the two sides to negotiate a deal.

A CUPW spokesperson denounced the government’s decision, calling it an assault “on our constitutionally protected right to collectively bargain and to strike.”

“This order continues a deeply troubling pattern in which the government uses its arbitrary powers to let employers off the hook, drag their feet, and refuse to bargain in good faith with workers and their unions,” the union representative said. “What we do know is that postal workers are being forced to return to work without new negotiated collective agreements in place.”

This week, we saw a resolution on one thing: a labour practice complaint from CUPW over layoffs during the strike. The union said a mediated settlement was reached that requires Canada Post to notify affected employees that they are not on a temporary layoff.

The key issues in the strike by more than 55,000 workers include wages, job security and how to staff a proposed expansion into weekend delivery.

Canada Post’s operations operations continue to be disrupted by the national strike. Mail and parcels are not being delivered presently, but some post offices remain open and offer limited services.

Once operations resume, Canada Post said all mail will be delivered as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis.