DHL Express suspends deliveries nationwide amid strike, hitting Quebec operations
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DHL Express has halted all parcel deliveries to and from Canada as of Friday, with union-led picket lines and paused shipments affecting operations across the country, including in Quebec.
The company says the suspension is tied to stalled contract talks with Unifor, which represents more than 2,100 DHL Express workers nationally, including drivers and warehouse staff at DHL's Lachine facility in Montreal. Shipments were paused earlier this week and there is no timeline for service to resume.
DHL says new federal legislation banning replacement workers prevents it from using contingency measures to maintain operations during the strike.
The company says it remains committed to reaching a deal that offers fair compensation while ensuring the long-term sustainability of its business in Canada.
Unifor, meanwhile, accuses the company of previously bringing in 'scab workers' and locking out employees who were demanding better pay, access to washrooms and protections against driver fatigue.
'The very things the Safe Rates campaign is fighting for — including fair wages, improved workplace protections, access to washrooms and tackling fatigue — are some of the same improvements we've been demanding for our members, and which DHL has locked us out for,' said Unifor's national president, Lana Payne.
Solidarity rallies are taking place this week at picket lines across the country, including in Lachine, as the union calls for stronger labour protections and fair pay in the transport sector.
Other divisions of the company — including DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain — remain operational. The suspension applies only to DHL Express deliveries.
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Montreal Gazette
8 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
DHL Express suspends deliveries nationwide amid strike, hitting Quebec operations
By DHL Express has halted all parcel deliveries to and from Canada as of Friday, with union-led picket lines and paused shipments affecting operations across the country, including in Quebec. The company says the suspension is tied to stalled contract talks with Unifor, which represents more than 2,100 DHL Express workers nationally, including drivers and warehouse staff at DHL's Lachine facility in Montreal. Shipments were paused earlier this week and there is no timeline for service to resume. DHL says new federal legislation banning replacement workers prevents it from using contingency measures to maintain operations during the strike. The company says it remains committed to reaching a deal that offers fair compensation while ensuring the long-term sustainability of its business in Canada. Unifor, meanwhile, accuses the company of previously bringing in 'scab workers' and locking out employees who were demanding better pay, access to washrooms and protections against driver fatigue. 'The very things the Safe Rates campaign is fighting for — including fair wages, improved workplace protections, access to washrooms and tackling fatigue — are some of the same improvements we've been demanding for our members, and which DHL has locked us out for,' said Unifor's national president, Lana Payne. Solidarity rallies are taking place this week at picket lines across the country, including in Lachine, as the union calls for stronger labour protections and fair pay in the transport sector. Other divisions of the company — including DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain — remain operational. The suspension applies only to DHL Express deliveries.
Global News
9 hours ago
- Global News
DHL Express halts operations as new ‘anti-scab' rules kick in amid strike
DHL Express Canada shut down operations early Friday morning amid a strike and lockout, halting thousands of daily parcel deliveries across the country. The work stoppage involving 2,100 truck drivers and other workers comes the same day that legislation banning replacement workers takes effect. DHL has tied the shutdown to stalled negotiations with Unifor as well as the revised rules, which bar new hires from filling the role of federally regulated employees who are on strike or locked out. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The German-owned courier, whose 50,000 customers in Canada include Lululemon, Shein and Siemens, continued operations for the first dozen days of the work stoppage but began to wind down earlier this week as the legislation loomed. Unifor president Lana Payne says the company brought in replacement workers — a claim DHL has not denied — in a move she said was legal at the time but undermining fair wages. Story continues below advertisement Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she met with both sides on Wednesday after DHL asked her last week to intervene in the standoff by compelling work to resume.
CBC
10 hours ago
- CBC
DHL stops deliveries in Canada amid strike, new law banning replacement workers
DHL Express Canada stopped delivery service across the country Friday as workers continue to strike and new federal legislation banning replacement workers comes into effect. More than 2,000 DHL workers represented by Unifor — including truck drivers, couriers and warehouse and call centre employees — have been on strike since June 8 after the German-owned delivery company locked them out following a breakdown in negotiations with the union. DHL has tied the shutdown to the stalled negotiations as well as a new federal law barring replacement workers from filling the role of federally regulated employees who are on strike or locked out. Unifor has said its bargaining priorities with DHL revolve around wages, working conditions and surveillance and automation in the workplace. Unifor representative Balkar Bains, who was on the picket line in Brampton Friday, said the new legislation has "empowered unions to be able to have fair bargaining." "Unfortunately, DHL is disregarding that." DHL, whose 50,000 customers in Canada include Lululemon, Shein and Siemens, continued operations for the first dozen days of the work stoppage but began to wind down earlier this week as the legislation loomed. Unifor president Lana Payne says the company had brought in replacement workers — a claim DHL has not denied — in a move she says was legal at the time but undermined negotiations for fair wages. Earlier this week, DHL wrote to Ottawa, asking the federal government to allow the company to continue operating despite the ban, arguing the company provides an essential service. In response, Unifor wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking that the federal government not intervene, saying it would remove the employer's incentive to negotiate and settle a fair contract. DHL has not responded to CBC's request for comment. Stoppage affecting business, customers The DHL delivery stoppage comes at a time of turmoil for parcel delivery in Canada, as Canada Post remains at loggerheads with the union that represents 55,000 of its workers. That, along with the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada, has been costly for Holly Rockbrune, who owns an antique store in Pickering, Ont. She says about 70 per cent of her clients are American. "We're constantly having to update how we handle things," Rockbrune said this week. "All of these shipping issues combined really just make things very difficult to run a business." She says she's had to start using smaller, private shipping companies that are sometimes twice as costly as DHL in order to keep her customers. "Our orders are down, our order numbers are down, the values are down," she said. The DHL strike and shutdown has also already caused problems for customers, like Prateek Mahajan, who says he and his fiancée were supposed to get their wedding clothes delivered Friday. He was at the company's Brampton warehouse in the morning in hopes they'd arrived, but he says DHL wouldn't help him.
