After more than four weeks on strike, Canada Post employees have been ordered back to work — but don’t bet on all 55,000 of them showing up for their Tuesday shift, labour experts say.
Late Sunday night, Canada Post announced that following weekend hearings, the Canada Industrial Relations Board had ruled in favour of Friday’s referral from federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon and said that the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers were at an impasse and unlikely to reach a contract agreement by the end of the year.
“After two days of hearings, the CIRB has issued its ruling confirming the parties are at an impasse. As a result, the CIRB has ordered employees to return to work and postal operations to begin to resume at 8 a.m. local time on Dec. 17, 2024,” Canada Post said in a written statement late Sunday night.
Canada Post has also agreed to implement a five per cent raise retroactive to last January. Employees will get the raise in two portions — an immediate $1,000 payment, with the rest coming by the end of January.
The ruling — and Friday’s referral — were met with scorn by some rank and file union members, said Mark Lubinski, president of CUPW’s Toronto local.
“People are pissed off because they’ve been toyed with for the last month,” said Lubinski in an interview Monday afternoon.
CUPW’s national council met Monday to discuss the CIRB ruling. Late Monday afternoon, the union said it was disappointed by the ruling, and will be appealing it to the CIRB. The appeal will be heard in mid-January.
“This decision is disappointing to say the least for CUPW and all of our members who made sacrifices to fight for what is right and our rights to negotiate improvements to our working conditions,” the union said in a bulletin to members. “CUPW will still challenge the constitutionality and the current application of section 107 by the Minister of Labour.”
In a press release, the union said it believes MacKinnon’s order is unlawful. “The CIRB sided with the Employer and its ally, the Government, in concluding that agreements could not be reached by December 31, 2024 — a view CUPW does not share,” the union said.
Lubinski said some of his members had already made clear that they’d be angry if they’re told to go back.
“I’ve heard plenty of dissent,” said Lubinski.
However, he added, if some of them call in sick Tuesday, it wouldn’t be a sign of job action.
“If people call in sick, it’s because they’re sick. Either they’ve got a physical illness, or they’ve got a mental health concern,” said Lubinski.
On Monday Canada Post warned customers to expect delays into January as it attempts to deal with the backlog of letters, packages and flyers which built up during the strike.
“On a first-in, first-out basis, Canada Post will start working through the mail and parcels trapped in the system since the strike began,” Canada Post said.
While CUPW is unlikely to recommend that its members disobey the CIRB’s order, it’s not completely out of the question, said Stephanie Ross, a labour studies professor at McMaster University.
“People should realize that this is one of the unions in Canada that has a history of defying the law,” said Ross, noting that a 1965 wildcat strike by postal workers paved the way for the legalization of strikes by public-sector employees.
In 1978, CUPW national president Jean-Claude Parrot defied back-to-work legislation during a strike, with workers staying on the picket lines for a week after legislation passed. He was jailed for two months as a result, Ross noted.
While defying a legal back-to-work order could result in fines for the union or workers being fired, the kind of restructuring Canada Post is seeking could make that kind of defiance more tempting than it otherwise would be, Ross said.
“If people don’t see a viable future for themselves working at Canada Post, why would they be worried about preserving their jobs?” Ross said. “There’s a temptation to go out fighting, rather than on your knees.”
Still, political and public support for more radical job action is far weaker than it once was, said Rafael Gomez, director of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto.
“It’s not the ‘70s and ‘80s where you can brazenly flout some key principles on striking,” said Gomez, who doesn’t think CUPW will formally reject the CIRB’s ruling. However, he wouldn’t be stunned if some workers are less than enthusiastic about the order; when people are forced back onto the job, studies show they tend to drag their heels, Gomez said.
“People go back but without the motivation or drive that they’ve had if they got a win,” he said.
No formal mediation has taken place since Nov. 28, when the mediator called off talks, saying the two sides were too far apart to reach a deal. The strike began Nov. 15.
The union’s most recent proposal, delivered through a federally appointed arbitrator last week, lowered wage demands to a 19 per cent increase over four years from the previous 24 per cent. It also included a 20-hour-per-week guarantee for part-time workers.
The company attacked the proposal last Tuesday, saying it would add $2.9 billion to Canada Post’s costs over the next four years.
Management previously said it offered wage increases totalling 11.5 per cent over four years and additional paid leave, while protecting the defined benefit pension and job security provisions.
The company is seeking to provide weekend deliveries and have a greater share of its staff working part-time. The union wants full-time workers to do weekend delivery, while the company wants to hire part-time staff to do the job.
In addition to its other demands, the union initially suggested that Canada Post expand into banking.
Last week MacKinnon also appointed veteran mediator William Kaplan to run an “industrial inquiry commission” which, after the existing collective agreement expires on May 22 of next year, will present a proposal for a potential settlement to both sides.
“We’re calling a time out,” MacKinnon told reporters on Friday.
Both sides could potentially reject Kaplan’s recommendations.
