Pressure is building to find a path toward ending a national strike by Canada Post workers nearly two weeks after it began, as the union prepared to meet with federal officials on Wednesday.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said it would be meeting with Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound, who oversees Canada Post, for the first time since he announced changes to the company’s mail delivery business.
CUPW workers went to the picket lines hours after Lightbound’s announcement, saying the proposed changes — including phasing out door-to-door delivery and closing some post offices deemed unnecessary — would “gut” the postal service and lead to layoffs.
The union has also slammed Canada Post for presenting new contract offers last week that CUPW called “even worse” than the company’s proposals in May, which were overwhelmingly rejected by workers this summer.
“The parties have to sort it out,” Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters while heading into a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday.
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“If the union is not satisfied with the offer, they should table a counter-offer. That is how mediation works.”
CUPW has said it will take time to thoroughly review Canada Post’s offers before responding in detail.
Canada Post would not comment on the union’s meeting with Lightbound, but said Wednesday it is still waiting to hear back from CUPW.
“We are hoping CUPW will return to the bargaining table quickly, so we can resolve this situation,” the company said in an email.
The union on Monday said Lightbound’s announced changes to Canada Post is the latest example in a “downward spiral of government intervention” that has “completely ruined” the prospect of securing a contract in the current negotiations.
The rejection of Canada Post’s May offers came after a week-long vote held by the Canada Labour Relations Board this summer at Hajdu’s request. Last year, the government stepped in to end a month-long strike by postal workers.
Hajdu’s office on Tuesday pointed out that CUPW requested federal mediation last August to help in the negotiations, which have dragged on since November 2023.
The current strike has halted mail delivery across the country and caused anxiety for small businesses ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses says nearly two-thirds of its small business members have indicated they will stop using Canada Post altogether due to the labour uncertainty.
According to the CFIB, 13 per cent of business clients did just that following last year’s strike, which cost small businesses more than $1 billion.
The strike has also upended mail-in voting in the upcoming Newfoundland and Labrador election, as well as political advertising in local elections in Alberta.
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