Canada Post strike to end Tuesday as workers ordered back to work

A month-long Canada Post strike is set to end on Tuesday, after the federal labour relations board ordered postal workers to return to work, the Crown corporation said.

Postal operations are set to resume on Tuesday, Canada Post said in a statement Sunday night.

“After two days of hearings, the CIRB has issued its ruling confirming the parties are at an impasse,” the company said.

“As a result, the CIRB has ordered employees to return to work and postal operations to begin to resume at 8 am local time on December 17, 2024.”

Postal service will remain closed on Monday – Day 32 of the strike.

The national mailing service said it looks forward to welcoming its employees back to work and serving Canadians and businesses. It said it will share more details of its resumption in service later on Monday.

This comes after Labour Minster Steven MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on Friday to order workers back on the job if it agrees with his determination there is an “impasse” in negotiations.

MacKinnon said the decision is not one he “takes lightly,” adding that it is time to “call a time out.”

In a post on X Monday morning, MacKinnon said the CIRB ordered an extension of the current collective agreements, and a resumption of operations after determining that a deal could not be reached between the two parties by the end of the year.

He said an Industrial Inquiry Commission will also review the structural issues of the labour dispute and will issue a report on May 15, which “will serve as a solid basis for both parties to negotiate their collective agreements.”

The strike of more 55,000 workers began on Nov. 15. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers was seeking wage increases, better pensions and improved health benefits.

“While the terms of the existing collective agreements will be extended until May 22, 2025, we also put forward an offer to implement a wage increase of five per cent for employees, which was proposed in the company’s last global offer,” Canada Post said.

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The wage hike will be retroactive to the day after each collective agreement expired, which was Dec. 31, 2023, for rural and suburban mail carriers (RSMC) unit and Jan. 31, 2024 for the urban unit.

There was no immediate comment from CUPW to the CIRB order. The union had criticized the government intervention on Friday, saying in a statement: “We denounce in the strongest terms this assault on our constitutionally protected right to free and fair collective bargain and our right to strike.”

Ottawa had for weeks resisted calls to intervene by some groups, while it continued to urged  both sides to reach an agreement.

In the past, federal governments have used back-to-work legislation during Canada Post strikes, including in 2018 and 2011, to resolve disputes and restore essential services.

— with files from Global News’ Katie Dangerfield

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