Operations set to resume this week after CIRB ruling
Canada Post operations are set to resume at 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Dec. 17, after the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordered striking employees to return to work.
The decision follows a directive issued by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, who called on the CIRB to intervene if negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) failed to yield a deal before the end of the year.
The ruling comes after two days of hearings over the weekend, said the Canadian Press, during which the CIRB concluded that negotiations between the Crown corporation and the union had reached an impasse.
MacKinnon, speaking to reporters in Ottawa, described the decision as a necessary measure to reset the bargaining process.
“We’re calling a timeout,” he said. “Suffice to say positions appeared to have hardened and it became clear to me we were in a total impasse.”
Temporary contract extensions
In addition to the back-to-work order, the CIRB has extended the current collective agreements between Canada Post and CUPW until May 2025. This extension aims to provide more time for negotiations to continue.
Meanwhile, Canada Post announced it has agreed with the union to implement a five per cent wage increase, retroactive to the day after the collective agreements expired.
The union has not yet issued a statement in response to the CIRB’s ruling, said the Canadian Press. However, CUPW previously criticized MacKinnon’s intervention, calling it part of a concerning trend of government interference.
The union argued that such actions undermine fair bargaining by allowing employers to avoid negotiating in good faith.
“We denounce in the strongest terms this assault on our constitutionally protected right to free and fair collective bargain and our right to strike,” said CUPW in a Dec. 13 statement.
Government defends intervention with Canada Post strike
Ottawa invoked section 107 of the Labour Code to issue the directive. This is the same authority it used earlier this year to end labour disputes at Canada’s railways and ports, which also resulted in binding arbitration.
MacKinnon, however, noted that this approach differed from previous interventions, said the Canadian Press. By involving the CIRB rather than imposing binding arbitration outright, he said the government sought to encourage further dialogue.
Business groups, which had been pressing for government action, welcomed the intervention. With the holiday season in full swing, many companies and consumers had been struggling to find alternative delivery options during the strike.
The Canada Post strike was costing Canadian small and medium-sized businesses $76 million per day, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
