Here’s what you need to know about the latest negotiation updates, what’s changed, and whether your Christmas cards and packages will arrive on time.
Following nearly a month on strike, Canadian postal workers have been ordered back to work this week beginning Tuesday.
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Here’s what you need to know about the latest negotiation updates, what’s changed, and whether your Christmas cards and packages will arrive on time.
What’s been happening with Canada Post?
On Nov. 15, about 55,000 postal workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, went on strike.
While Canada Post and CUPW have traded offers over the past month, talks broke down last week with CUPW saying the employer had “sat on (their) latest offer for five days with no response.”
What’s the latest on the Canada Post strike?
Over the weekend, Canada’s Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to determine whether there was a chance Canada Post and the CUPW might reach an agreement before the end of 2024.
Following two days of hearings, the CIRB determined the two sides were at an impasse, meaning the two bargaining parties had exhausted all reasonable options.
Girouard said in the statement that the union would challenge the constitutionality of the labour minister’s directive, and that a hearing with the CIRB would take place Jan. 13 and 14, 2025.
So what happens with negotiations now?
By law, when a contract is expires, it continues to roll over until a new contract is reached. CUPW workers will return to work under their old contract.
However, Canada Post has said it put forward an offer to implement a five per cent wage increase for employees upon their return, retroactive to the day after the collective agreements for each CUPW group expired.
The retroactive pay bump will be paid out as an upfront payment of $1,000 before Christmas for all regular employees and $500 for temporary employees. The remainder of the retroactive pay will be paid by the end of January.
Girouard pointed out the five per cent increase is considered a “baseline” increase and that the union will continue to push for an additional increase.
It appears CUPW and Canada Post will continue to negotiate during the return to work, until the May 2025 deadline.
Is it true CUPW is responsible for winning paid maternity leave benefits?
As a result, that strike won CUPW members the right to 17 weeks of paid maternity leave. That hard-won benefit soon spread to other workplaces and government agencies, becoming accepted as the norm that all workers who become parents should get paid leave.
When does mail service resume?
The CIRB has ordered CUPW members to return to work on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Canada Post said in an update Sunday evening that it expects postal operations to begin at 8 a.m. local time.
When can I send my Christmas cards and packages?
While workers are being ordered back on Tuesday, Canada Post has said it will not receive, accept or pickup any new mail or packages for the first 48 hours — until Thursday, Dec. 19.
So while postal offices may be open on Tuesday, customers are being asked to hold off on mailing anything new until Thursday.
If I mail Christmas cards and packages on Thursday, will they arrive before Christmas?
As of Monday, Dec. 16, it’s unclear and seems unlikely. Canada Post usually offers an “on-time delivery guarantee,” but the guarantee is suspended in cases of bad weather or, as is the case currently, labour disruptions.
Not to mention there’s going to be a backlog of items that were sent just before the strike kicked off that will now start moving once service resumes.
“Given the timing and duration of the strike, when our operations resume, we will need to begin processing the mail and parcels trapped in our network,” read a notice shared Monday on Canada Post’s website.
“It will take time to clear our network so customers should expect delays in processing and delivery.”
Once held mail and packages are clear, there’s still the inevitable larger-than-usual influx of seasonal mail and packages that will be dropped off over the coming days, as people try to get their gifts into the mail.
All that to say — you’d better prepare for delays and keep your Christmas morning deadline expectations low as Canada Post and returning workers find their bearings.