They’re stepping back from the brink, but will it be enough for Canada Post and its workers to reach a new contract agreement?
Just hours after starting a “strike action” that will see their members staying on the job while refusing overtime work, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that there will be “meetings” with the Crown corporation over the weekend.
“The Union expects to meet with Canada Post and the mediators this weekend to continue working towards ratifiable collective agreements,” said CUPW president Jan Simpson in a bulletin to members on Friday evening.
That news was welcomed by Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton, adding that the company hopes to get an official response to the contract offer presented Wednesday.
“We are hopeful of receiving a response to our global offers, and having negotiations move forward with urgency,” Hamilton said in a written statement.
In an interview on CTV, CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant said the union was committed to reaching a negotiated settlement, even though Canada Post turned down a request for a two-week truce so the union could take a look at the Wednesday offer.
“We replied on a few issues last night, and there’s a plan to meet tomorrow and Sunday,” Gallant said, adding that the union was being “the adult in the room.”
Friday afternoon, Canada Post said parcel volumes have dropped substantially since the union issued a 72-hour strike notice earlier this week.
“The threat of a strike has already had a significant impact on Canada Post as customers have either moved to other delivery providers or have cancelled mailings to avoid their items being trapped by another disruption,” the Crown corporation said. “Since receiving the 72-hour strike notice from CUPW on Monday, we have delivered approximately 50 per cent or 1.3 million less parcels when compared to the same period in 2024.”
Despite the potshots from both sides, that they are planning to meet is a promising sign an agreement could be coming, labour relations experts said.
“It’s always a good sign that they’re talking. You can’t find an agreement that both sides can live with without talking,” said Stephanie Ross, a labour studies professor at McMaster University. “A strike and lockout are not off the table. But we’re clearly not there yet.”
The union’s decision to not have its members walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Friday, and the Crown corporation’s decision to not lock its workers out is also a good sign, Ross added. And it could mean there won’t be a repeat of last year’s 32-day strike.
“It seems that Canada Post didn’t escalate things in response to the overtime ban. That shows they don’t want to slam the door on potential negotiations yet. And it’s good for us to hear that the union wants to keep talking. It gives the sense that they think there’s something to talk about,” Ross said.
Friday morning, federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu posted on X that CUPW and the Crown corporation should use a report delivered by veteran mediator William Kaplan to reach a negotiated settlement.
Late Thursday night, CUPW announced that its members would be refusing overtime work beginning at midnight local time across the country, rather than walking off the job entirely.
“While this action does constitute a continuation of our strike activity, postal workers will remain on the job to minimize disruption to the public,” CUPW said in a written statement.
The Crown corporation and union both likely realize CUPW doesn’t have enough external leverage or membership support to make a full-blown strike effective, said University of Toronto professor Rafael Gomez.
“Public opinion plays much more of a role in these types of national strikes than a shoe factory, or even an auto plant,” said Gomez, director of U of T’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. “Canada Post is playing some hardball because timing doesn’t favour the union, and public sentiment really doesn’t either.”
Gomez suggested that the union is likely looking for any small improvement over a contract offer made by Canada Post on Wednesday, so they can say to their members that they’ve added value.
“I think they need to be able to show that this strike action actually got them something over the offer. Even if it’s not much,” Gomez said.
Wednesday’s four-year contract offer includes the creation of new, part-time and temporary carrier job categories to help Canada Post extend parcel delivery to weekends, as well as the use of “dynamic routing” at 10 mail-sorting facilities. Dynamic routing means carriers could see their routes shift daily to accommodate changes in volume.
Canada Post said the offer also includes total wage increases of 13 per cent for existing employees, with a six per cent increase in the first year, followed by increases of three, two and two per cent.
The federal government also realizes that public opinion isn’t on the union’s side, and would be quick to intervene in the event of a full-blown strike, suggested Ross.
“Kaplan’s report gave the government plenty of cover to intervene if they want to,” said Ross, noting that Prime Minister Mark Carney is seen as less labour-friendly than his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. The trade war sparked by tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump is also limiting political and public patience for a broad strike like the 32-day walkout last November and December, Ross argued.
Kaplan’s report said Canada Post was effectively insolvent and suggested the use of community mailboxes, the elimination of home delivery except for parcels, and getting rid of some post office locations and replacing them with franchises.
Kaplan also suggested expanding parcel delivery to seven days a week, with the use of part-time and temporary employees.
Kaplan delivered the official report from his Industrial Inquiry Commission to the federal government, including Hajdu, last week.
In December, Kaplan was appointed to run the commission by then-federal labour minister Steven MacKinnon.
At the same time, MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to declare an impasse in contract talks. The CIRB did just that, and workers were ordered back on the job Dec. 17, temporarily pausing a month-long strike.
Kaplan was given a dual mandate, both to chart a path for Canada Post’s future structure and mandate, and to suggest the foundations of a potential new contract agreement.
