The Canada Post union says it will move from a nationwide strike to a rotational strike on Saturday
The union representing 55,000 Canada Post workers has announced it will end its nationwide strike action and move to sequential strikes starting this weekend.
The notice was posted on the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) website late Thursday evening.
“Beginning at 6am local time on Saturday, October 11, CUPW will move from nationwide strike action to gradual strike action,” CUPW president Jan Simpson wrote in the notice.
“This will get mail and parcels moving again, while continuing our fight for good collective agreements and a strong public postal service.”
It was not clear from the union’s message how long it would take for Canadians to actually start receiving mail again. CBC News has contacted CUPW for clarification. Canada Post has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The union was in the midst of its second nationwide strike in less than a year, bringing almost all mail and parcel deliveries to a complete halt.
The latest strike comes after the federal government announced plans last month to restructure the Crown corporation, which is on track to lose $1.5 billion in 2025 and is only afloat thanks to a $1 billion federal loan.
In its statement Thursday night, the union accused the federal government of encouraging Canada Post to “make a mockery of the bargaining process” by announcing the changes amid a contract dispute.
Simpson and other union leaders said they met Government Change Minister Joel Lightbound will be there for an hour on Wednesday evening and there are plans to meet with him again next week.
Many of the measures announced by Lightbound last month are changes Canada Post has long asked Ottawa to make to ensure it can remain financially viable. (The operations of Crown corporations are largely regulated through federal legislation.)
The restructuring includes eliminating door-to-door delivery (with some access exemptions) and giving the corporation more autonomy to decide how and when it delivers.
The union said in a message on its website that the government’s plan “would allow Canada Post to dismantle our postal service and eliminate thousands of our jobs.”
“We will continue our fight for strong public services, good jobs and a sustainable public Post Office for all Canadians,” the post reads.
Could ending door-to-door mail delivery help solve Canada Post’s financial woes? Andrew Chang explains how Canada Post’s strength may now be its weakness – and what the way forward may reveal. Also, is Trump right about eliminating the penny?
