Ottawa (From Canada Post/ CBC) From Canada Post: On December 13, the Minister of Labour established a process with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to assess the likelihood of Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) reaching agreements by the end of 2024.
Employees to return to work on December 17 and the resumption of service to begin
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 am local time on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. We will share further details shortly, but want to remind employees and customers that our operations will remain closed on Monday, December 16.
What this means for customers
Given the timing and duration of the strike, when our operations resume we will need to begin processing the mail and parcels trapped in our network. It will take time to clear our network, so customers should expect delays in processing and delivery.
Some limitations will apply for the first 48 hours after our operations resume – including for pickups and drop-offs. Because of this, we will not receive or pick up new product until Thursday, December 19.
We’re committed to giving customers as much information as possible regarding specific timelines and capacity. This includes providing details on what to expect during the first few days and as we continue to stabilize operations.
Look for more information later today and in the coming days.
Retroactive pay increase to employees as process unfolds
We look forward to welcoming our employees back to work and serving the millions of Canadians and businesses who rely on our services. While the terms of the existing collective agreements will be extended until May 22, 2025, we also put forward an offer to implement a wage increase of five per cent for employees, which was proposed in the company’s last global offer.
With both parties in agreement, the wage increase will be retroactive to the day after each collective agreement expired. The increase will remain in effect going forward, and the retroactive portion will be paid out to current employees in two portions:
- An upfront payment before Christmas of $1,000 for all CUPW-represented regular employees (full-time and part-time) and $500 for temporary employees based on a minimum number of hours.
- The wage increase and retroactive payment will be made no later than January 31, 2025.
Collective agreements between Canada Post and CUPW expired on December 31, 2023, for the RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) unit and on January 31, 2024, for the urban unit.
Commitment to the negotiations process
Our commitment has always been to reach negotiated agreements with CUPW that would help us better serve the changing needs of Canadians and provide good jobs to those who provide the service. We remain committed to doing so within this new process while also meeting the postal needs of Canadians.
More details on the start-up plans will be made available at canadapost.ca when finalized.
CUPW issued a statement on Deecember 16
This weekend, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) appeared before the Canada
Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) under an order from the Minister of Labour—an order the
Union firmly believes 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. Despite this, CUPW successfully negotiated 5% wage increases
for 2024.
The constitutional challenge to this process is scheduled for January 13-14, 2025. Our fight for
justice is far from over.
