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By David Hartwig
A nationwide strike of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers began Sept. 25 following changes announced by the government of Canada on the same day.
As of Sept. 25, mail and parcels are not being processed or delivered in Canada, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees have ended for items already in the postal network, and no new items are being accepted. The delivery of socio-economic checks will continue, as will the delivery of live animals already in the postal network.
On Sept. 25 the Canada minister of government transformation Joel Lightbound announced a series of measures meant to stabilize the finances of Canada Post and ensure the postal agency’s modernization.
These measures include the end of home deliveries in favor of community mailboxes, the closure of several rural post offices, more flexibility in letter delivery standards and more flexibility to raise stamp prices.
“Today’s announcement will allow us to make the changes needed to restore Canada’s postal service for all Canadians by evolving to better meet their needs,” Canada Post president and CEO Doug Ettinger said. “We take this responsibility seriously and will work closely with the government and our employees to move with urgency and implement the necessary changes in a thoughtful manner. Our goal is to ensure that a strong, affordable, Canadian-made, Canadian-run delivery provider supports the needs of today’s economy and delivers to every community across the country.”
Canadian Union of Postal Workers president Jan Simpson called this a “slapdash approach” and “an insult to the public and to postal workers” in a Sept. 25 statement.
“We cannot accept this attack on good jobs and public services,” Simpson said when announcing the strike. “Let’s now turn our efforts to making sure the Government and Canada Post hear us loud and clear. We have done it before. We will do it again.”
The Sept. 25 announcement and subsequent strike comes after the Canadian Union of Postal Workers banned the delivery of unaddressed direct mail (what Canada Post calls Neighborhood Mail) starting Sept. 15.
In response to the ban, Canada Post said Sept. 18 that it would be presenting new global offers to the union. According to a Sept. 26 statement from the union, the new offers are scheduled to arrive Oct. 1 or Oct. 2.
Canada Post last presented offers to the union May 28, and these were rejected in a vote ending Aug. 1 (Linn’s, Aug. 25, page 3).
The union provided counter offers to Canada Post Aug. 20. In an Aug. 27 press release, Canada Post said it reviewed the counter offers and “urged the union to revisit its offers to align with the realities confronting the company.”
“Unfortunately, CUPW (Canadian Union of Postal Workers) has either maintained or hardened its position on many items and added new demands, and the gap between the parties remains substantial,” Canada Post said. “Several proposed items would increase the Corporation’s operational costs. While the union’s offers included some part-time employee component to address weekend delivery, CUPW’s proposed approach remains unaffordable, problematic and complex to manage.”
On Sept. 12, Simpson announced that the union would be escalating its strike activity.
“Canada Post has had our global offers since August 20, and instead of responding, they issued an ultimatum: change our offers or they would walk away, with no commitment to return,” Simpson said. “We’ve been left with no choice but to change our strike activity with the hope that Canada Post finally takes us seriously and returns to the bargaining table.”
A ban on the delivery of unaddressed direct mail replaced the national overtime ban that began one day after the collective agreements between Canada Post and Canadian Union of Postal Workers ended May 22 (Linn’s, June 16, page 3).
These collective agreements were extended after a strike of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in late 2024. The strike ended when the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered Canadian Union of Postal Workers-represented employees back to work (Linn’s, Jan. 13, 2025, page 12).
Canada Post provides details of its offers to the union online at canadapost.ca/offers, and provides negotiation updates online at www.canadapost.ca/update. The latest news from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers can be found online at www.cupw.ca/en/news—events.
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