Canada Post says the threat of a strike is “rapidly impacting” its revenue as customers concerned about their holiday packages not arriving in time switch delivery services.
“Retailers require certainty for their shipments at this critical time of year and are moving their parcels to other delivery companies,” the Crown corporation wrote in a statement Monday night.
“Customers have also cancelled direct marketing campaigns to avoid having items stuck in the postal network in the event of a strike.”
The volumes of mail and parcels are “down significantly and continue to erode,” the statement said, warning the strike threat will only further undermine the company’s deteriorating financial situation.
Canada Post and its unionized employees have been in contract talks for nearly a year. Last month, 95 per cent of workers voted in favour of a strike.
Negotiations continued through the weekend, with both sides escalating their language on Monday. The union must give Canada Post 72 hours’ notice before a strike can happen.
“If there is no real movement at the bargaining table, we won’t shy away from taking the next step,” the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said in a media statement Monday.
“Urgency is now required,” Canada Post said in its statement. “Our deteriorating financial situation could require the company to revisit its proposals.”
The union said it put forward a second offer to Canada Post on Tuesday.
“Unlike Canada Post’s proposals, our demands offer real solutions: fair wages, health and safety, the right to retire with dignity and expansion of services at the public post office,” the union said in a statement.
Weekend delivery a sticking point
Canada Post has lost $3 billion since 2018, including $490 million in the first six months of 2024. The Crown corporation has said it needs to expand parcel delivery on evenings and weekends to compete with other parcel delivery companies.
Both the company and the union pointed to the push for weekend delivery as a sticking point.
“To date, the union has been either resistant to change or has required serious constraints on our flexible delivery proposals, which would negate any potential benefits of the change,” Canada Post wrote.
Canada Post has a monopoly on Canadian letter delivery. But financial reports show the Crown corporation has lost $748 million this year alone and is expected to run out of money by early 2025. Andrew Chang explains how – even when parcel delivery is at an all-time high – the company can’t catch a break, and what it means for your mail.
The union says it wants to make sure the changes Canada Post is pursuing don’t compromise regular full-time weekday routes.
“We are not satisfied that the employer’s plan will protect our weekday work,” the union wrote.”The employer’s main interest lies in achieving ‘flexibility’ to deliver parcels at the lowest possible cost.”
CUPW said Canada Post is also unwilling to improve its short-term disability plan.
“Unfortunately, the employer demonstrated little willingness to consider our demand to include 10 medical days and seven personal days as part of our collective agreements,” the union wrote.
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said federal mediators, who were appointed in mid-October, continue to work to avoid a strike.
“These are very tough negotiations. There are some major issues at play. The good news is that the parties are still dialoguing,” MacKinnon said Tuesday.
Matt Poirier, vice-president of federal government relations at the Retail Council of Canada, said his group is hearing from shops “spooked” by the prospect of a labour disruption right before the holiday season.
“They really can’t afford to not have their packages or their goods moving. So that’s why they’ve been looking at all options and finding alternatives where they can,” Poirier said.
“It’s very important for all the parties involved in the talks to find a resolution as quickly as possible.”
