Canada’s business and retail advocacy groups are calling on the federal government to bring an end to the nationwide postal strike that has stalled mail delivery for businesses and consumers alike.
Approximately 55,000 Canada Post workers walked off the job just after midnight on Nov. 15, following failed discussions at the bargaining table between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the Crown corporation.
Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) advocacy executive vice-president Corinne Pohlmann said it is time for the federal government to intervene.
“CFIB will call on government to use all its powers (including binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation) to keep the postal system working,” she said in an emailed statement.
“Small firms depend on a reliable postal service, and they need mail and parcel delivery service provided by Canada Post to remain fully operational.”
CFIB polling indicates 79 percent of small businesses rely on Canada Post services to do business and 75 percent say they will be negatively impacted by the strike, Pohlmann said.
Small businesses often rely on the postal system to send marketing materials to consumers, send invoices, and receive payments from suppliers and business customers, she said. They also use the mail to ship goods, particularly during November and December—prime Christmas shopping months.
Retail Council of Canada (RCC) vice-president of marketing Santo Ligotti said the work stoppage couldn’t come at a worse time for retailers than the busy holiday shopping season. He said the retail supply chain has already taken a beating following the recently ended disruptions at ports in both British Columbia and Montreal early this week as well as the rail strike in August.
“RCC urges all the parties in the Canada Post labour dispute to come to an immediate agreement and to end the work stoppage,” Ligotti said in an emailed statement.
“If this cannot happen, then the federal government must step in and use its powers to bring an end to the strike. The retail industry, and Canadians cannot continue to bear the costs of these labour disruptions.”
Strike Politics
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said the Liberal government should not force Canada Post employees back to work, saying on Nov. 15 that Ottawa should “stay out of it.”Singh said he’s prepared to vote against the government in the House over the matter.
“I don’t care if it’s a confidence vote or not, we will be voting against it,” Singh told CBC News in a recent interview. “We will never allow [the government] to bring a vote in parliament that undermines workers’ rights.”
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has not said if the government is considering back-to-work legislation, but it has done so in the past. Ottawa enacted Bill C-89 during the 2018 postal strike, forcing the postal workers to return to work after three days.
In the meantime, MacKinnon has appointed the director general of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services as a special mediator to help expedite negotiations between Canada Post and the union representing its urban and rural workers.
“Our top federal mediators have been working with the parties tirelessly, and we are now sending additional resources to the bargaining table,” MacKinnon said in a Nov. 14 social media post. “We are making sure that these two groups have everything they need to reach a deal.”
Negotiations between the two parties had been ongoing for nearly a year before talks broke down.
Canada Post’s most recent contract offer included annual wage increases totalling 11.5 percent over a four-year period, job security, health benefits, and guaranteed safeguards for the defined benefit pension of current employees.
The union rejected the proposal, but said in a Nov. 15 press release it believes the two sides can achieve negotiated collective agreements.
The union is requesting wage increases that are “in line with inflation,” and increases to the benefit plan to include items like health specialists, fertility treatment, and “gender-affirming” care.
It is also requesting 10 paid medical days in addition to the seven paid personal days employees currently receive as well as paid meal and rest periods for employees working five hours or more.
