MORRISBURG – Canada Post employees may be returning to the picket lines if an agreement is not reached between the Crown corporation and union CUPW by May 22.
Over 55,000 Canadian Union of Postal Workers originally struck the postal service on November 15, 2024 – and were off the job for over a month before the union and company agreed to temporarily extend the expired contract for six months. Workers returned to work December 17. However the strike had a significant impact on the busy holiday season.
A recent update from Canada Post said the two sides had resumed talks with a mediator. CUPW said that many of the union’s issues remained unresolved.
The Industrial Inquiry Commission report is to be delivered to the federal Minister of Labour by May 15. That report examined the state of Canada Post and its finances, in relation to reaching a labour deal.
CUPW has asked for a 24 per cent pay increase over a four-year term, something that Canada Post said it cannot afford. Between 2018 and 2023, the corporation lost over $3 billion as parcel shipments and letter mail has declined.
Courier companies like FedEx and UPS have also seen year-over-year losses in package delivery – in part due to third-party and per-item carriers used by Amazon and other shippers.
Both the company and union have said that talks will continue with the help of a federal mediator looking to finalize new agreements for rural and urban mail carriers by the deadline.
Possible delivery disruption
Weekly newspapers like The Leader will be affected by any strike action or lockout. In the event of a service disruption, The Leader will be available for subscribers to pick up at our office at 41 Main Street, in the Morrisburg Village Plaza. All subscriber copies will be held for pick-up, or will be mailed following the resumption in postal service. There will be no changes to store or newsstand deliveries of the paper.
“It is not an ideal situation and we hope it will be resolved quickly,” said Sam Laurin, editor and publisher of The Leader.
Unionized Canada Post employees were off the job for 32-days during the last strike action.
Discover more from Morrisburg Leader
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.