Latest news with #postalstrike
CBC
21-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Unionized workers at Canada Post to start voting on contract offer
Social Sharing Unionized workers at Canada Post begin voting on the Crown corporation's latest contract offer on Monday. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is urging they reject the proposal. Canada Post is at an impasse with the union representing roughly 55,000 postal service workers after more than a year and a half of talks. The vote comes after federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to step in and put the Crown corporation's latest offer to a vote. The offer includes wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years but also adds part-time workers that Canada Post has said are necessary to keep the postal service afloat. The Crown corporation's operating losses amounted to $10 million a day in June, said Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton. "We hope our employees see these offers provide certainty for the road ahead and vote yes to make them their new collective agreements," he said in a statement. "If the vote is positive, the offers become new collective agreements effective until Jan. 31, 2028. If not, Canada Post won't speculate other than to say the uncertainty will continue." Union national president Jan Simpson has said a strong no vote would not only reject the offer, but also protect the integrity of the bargaining process. A postal strike could push 63 per cent businesses to walk away from Canada Post permanently, according to a survey released Monday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. It said around 13 per cent of small firms already stopped using Canada Post after the 2024 strike. CFIB estimates that work stoppage cost small businesses between $75 million to $100 million each day. It says more than 70 per cent of businesses responded to the disruptions by encouraging customers to use digital options, 45 per cent turned to private couriers, while 27 per cent delayed mail.
CTV News
02-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Halifax businesses worry about uncertain future with Canada Post
Shop owners in Halifax are frustrated by uncertainties surrounding the dispute between Canada Post and The Canadian Union of Postal Workers. A family-owned Japanese-themed shop in Halifax relies heavily on Canada post's services. Most of their inventory is shipped from Japan. The strike last year had a big impact and they worry about another one. 'When Canada Post stopped services last year it was a hard time for us because we couldn't get anything and we had to switch to private couriers and that was more expensive,' says Ferdinand Ballesteros, the Ikebana Shop owner. Ballesteros said he and his wife took the hit to their company's bottom line thinking it was only temporary. They said they are ahead of things if there's another strike. 'We have tried to manage the schedule such that we don't ask our suppliers to ship out right now and not do anything for them to be caught in limbo,' says Ballesteros. Cailean Jan, owner of the Silk Route in Halifax said she's trying to figure out options to reach her customers that are more reliable than Canada Post. Ikebana Shop The storefront of Halifax's Ikebana Shop is pictured. (Emma Convey/CTV Atlantic) 'People do like to shop online and I don't want to have people being discouraged to shop because they are not sure if or when they are going to get their items.' Canada Post has rejected a request from the CUPW to send their ongoing labour dispute to binding arbitration. 'CUPW has put forward an option to go to binding arbitration, that would add another 12 to 18 months of uncertainty because it's a long lengthy process with the lawyers battling it out,' says Jon Hamilton, Vice President of Communications at Canada Post. Hamilton said it would mean their employees wouldn't have a contract for a long time and it would sideline their right to vote on another agreement because it's binding. CUPW made the request in a statement Saturday, saying it was inviting Canada Post to a fair, final and binding arbitration process to resolve negotiations. Silk Route The sign for the Silk Route in Halifax, N.S., is pictured. 'This all comes down to the government,' says Dwayne Corner, CUPW president. 'When they ordered us back to work, they did not send us to binding arbitration like they did the other parties like the rail workers and the port workers.' Corner said this would have been settled had it gone to arbitration the first time. The Crown corporation dismissed the proposal in a response on Sunday, saying it wants to 'restore stability' to the postal service and arguing the union's request for binding arbitration would do the opposite. 'We are probably further apart now than we were last year, so after 18 months we have put forward an offer and we believe employees should have a chance to voice their opinion and vote,' says Hamilton. CUPW has been in a legal strike position since May 23 and has opted to ban their members from working overtime. 'We hope that the minister will support us and deny the corporation's request to take the vote to the members. we want them to continue bargaining with us,' says Corner. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Canada Post reports $1.3B operating loss in 2024
Canada Post is reporting a $1.3-billion loss in operating expenses in its 2024 annual report. Overall, the Crown corporation has lost $3.8 billion since 2018. The news comes as a potential postal worker strike looms. This breaking story will be updated.
National Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
'The people will be with us': Inside the thoughts of Canada Post workers considering a strike
Article content Canadian postal workers may once again go on strike. After a one-month strike over the winter that effectively stranded tens of thousands of Christmas parcels, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is set to do it all again. After a midnight deadline expired without an agreement, the union announced a ban on overtime Friday and said they may escalate. Article content Article content Canada Post is hemorrhaging money, and managers are signalling that they see no way forward without a drastic streamlining of how the place is run. The CUPW, in turn, doesn't want any of that — and is also pressing for more money and vacation days. Article content Article content Article content But there is one thing we do know. The image and reputation of the Canadian postal worker has never been higher. When the average Canadian looks upon a cheerful mail carrier bombarded by the elements and weighed down with the burdens of their calling, they see an image of the country exceeded only by Terry Fox, the warriors of Vimy Ridge or a particularly majestic raven. Article content Do I wish for labour disruption? Of course not, but I know that in any conflict, the people will be with us. Article content The die is cast: Today we issued our 72-hour strike notice. In these instances, the slaving plutocrats at Canada Post always hide behind flimsy rationales such as 'finances' or 'imminent bankruptcy.' This is why our demands also include a number of measures to increase revenue at the corporation and restore it to solvency. Article content Article content These include licensing a line of limited edition postal worker action figures, and using our vehicle fleet to spearhead the creation of a backyard furnace program to dramatically increase Canadian steel production as a check against American imperialism. Article content
CTV News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
CTV National News: Impact of job action by Canada Post workers
CTV National News: Impact of job action by Canada Post workers Canada Post is warning of delays as postal workers initiated an overtime ban as a strike deadline passed with no deal. Genevieve Beauchemin has more.
