MORRISBURG – The Canada Industrial Relations Board has ordered striking Canada Post mail carriers back to work. The CIRB made the order following deliberations over the weekend.
The federal Minister of Labour Steve MacKinnon referred the month-long strike action to the CIRB on December 13 after Canada Post and its union, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, remained at a negotiating impasse.
“We’re calling a timeout,” MacKinnon said. “Suffice to say positions appeared to have hardened and it became clear to me we were in a total impasse.”
The order extends the now expired collective bargaining agreements until May 22, 2025. Canada Post said it is implementing a five per cent wage increase for the returning employees, retroactive to the end of the previous contracts. Rural and suburban mail carriers’ contract expired December 31, 2023, while urban carriers’ contract expired January 31, 2024.
CUPW President Jan Simpson said in a media release that the move to refer the stalemate to the CIRB was a “troubling pattern.”
“Once again, the government has chosen capital over workers by taking away our leverage to get a good deal,” she said.
Mail carriers have been on strike since November 15, halting mail service in the country at the busiest time of year.
Over 55,000 workers have been on strike, seeking higher wages and job protections against possible temporary and gig worker hires as the money-losing Crown corporation looks to improve revenues.
Since 2018, the company has posted $3 billion in losses. It is estimated by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that the strike action has cost small businesses which use the postal service over $100 million per day.
Post office services were expected to return December 17, however the company is warning that there will be several days of backlogs and service restrictions as deliveries resume.
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