16th Dec 2024: Canada Post employees will return to work on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 8 a.m. after a month-long strike brought mail and parcel delivery to a halt.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board stepped in following a directive from Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, who gave the green light for federal intervention if no agreement was reached by year-end. Talks between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) failed to break the deadlock over the weekend, leading the board to impose a return-to-work order.
To ease tensions, the labour board has extended union contracts until May 2025, giving both sides more time to negotiate. Additionally, Canada Post has agreed to a 5% wage hike, retroactive to the expiration of the last agreements.
The union has not yet responded publicly to the latest developments, but business groups, grappling with delivery delays during the busy holiday season, had been urging Ottawa to intervene.
Minister MacKinnon called the intervention a “timeout,” designed to reset the process without resorting to immediate binding arbitration, as was done earlier this year in disputes involving railways and ports.
Mail services are set to resume, bringing relief to Canadians just in time for the holidays.
