Canada Post workers go on strike, disrupting deliveries ahead of holiday season

Canada Post workers went on strike early Friday after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer, exactly one year after talks began.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) says approximately 55,000 workers in its urban, rural and suburban mail carrier (RSMC) bargaining units are striking, claiming little progress has been made in the bargaining process.

"Canada Post had the opportunity to prevent this strike, but it has refused to negotiate real solutions to the issues postal workers face every day," the union said in a statement.

"Instead, Canada Post left us no choice when it threatened to change our working conditions and leave our members exposed to layoffs."

The strike action comes ahead of Black Friday and the beginning of the holiday season, when Canadians rely on the postal service to send and receive gifts, packages and cards.

Canada Post said in a statement Friday morning that its operations will shut down, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses.

Mail and parcels, the Crown corporation said, will not be processed or delivered during the strike, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees will be affected for items already in the postal network and no new items will be accepted.

The union and the company have agreed that benefit cheques will still be mailed out during the strike, including for the Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan.

Once operations resume, the corporation said, mail and parcels will be delivered on a first-come, first-serve basis, but "a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends."

Earlier this week, Canada Post said progress in the negotiations had been "slow and lacking on major issues." The two sides began talks toward a new contract on Nov. 15, 2023.

Mark Lubinski, the Toronto local president of CUPW, said that Canada Post workers have fallen behind as the cost of living has gone up, with high rent and inflation leaving employees "unable to survive."

"We're prepared to be out here as long as we need to be," Lubinski told CBC News.

He said Canada Post workers know that they provide an essential service and that they have no other choice after a year of negotiations with the Crown corporation.

"The climate seems to be that Canada Post and other employers are waiting for the government to legislate us back to work," Lubinski said. "We want to negotiate a fair contract for our workers."