Dive Brief:
- Canada Post employees will vote on the carrier's most recent contract offers, a move that could break a long-running negotiations stalemate, following an order from Canada Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu announced Thursday.
- The vote by Canadian Union of Postal Workers members will be conducted via the Canada Industrial Relations Board as soon as possible, Hajdu said on X.
- "After 18 months of negotiation, over 200 meetings between the parties, 33 days of strike and lockout in the fall, and ongoing strain placed on Canada's small business and communities, it is in the public interest that the membership of CUPW has the opportunity to vote on Canada Post's last offers," Hajdu said.
Dive Insight:
CUPW represents more than 50,000 Canada Post workers who have been on an overtime ban since May 23 amid ongoing negotiations for new labor contracts. The union has said Canada Post's "final offers" fall short in key areas like pay raises and weekend delivery operations.
CUPW condemned Hajdu's decision and will urge members to vote no on Canada Post's offers, the union said in an emailed statement to Supply Chain Dive.
"Forced deals will not achieve labour peace," CUPW added.
Canada Post, which requested a government-directed vote in May, welcomed Hajdu's action and said it will give employees an opportunity to vote on a deal that comes "at a critical point in our history."
"A negotiated agreement between the parties has always been the preferred path to an employee ratification vote, however the parties remain at a major impasse," Canada Post said in an emailed statement to Supply Chain Dive.
Prior to Hajdu's decision, talks between the two parties had stalled. CUPW hadn't offered a response at the bargaining table to the “final offers” Canada Post brought forth near the end of May. Additionally, negotiators on both sides had differing visions on what the terms of a binding arbitration process would look like.
As negotiations have dragged on, shippers have shifted much of their Canada Post-destined volume to other carriers to limit potential delivery delays. On May 28, five days after the overtime ban began, Canada Post said its delivered parcel volumes had plummeted 65% from the same time last year.
