Canada Post strike posing threat to Black Friday and holiday deliveries

Nov 17 2018, 4:38 am

A cloud of doubt is being cast over Canada Post and the upcoming holiday season.

As rotating postal strikes continue for a fourth consecutive week, the company shared that hundreds of trailers, filled with parcels and packages, are backlogged at processing plants around the country.

As of Wednesday, November 14, Canada Post’s processing plant in Toronto had 260 trailers waiting to be unloaded. Their Vancouver plant had over 100.

The backlog shatters a previous high of 220 trailers that the company saw during last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

With the consumer holidays over a week away, the worry falls upon the heavy volume of parcels that are sure to follow. Canada Post explained in a statement that Black Friday and Cyber Monday kick off their busiest six weeks of the year.

As a result, the company has tabled what they’re calling a “significant offer” to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).

The offer, with a duration of four years, is worth approximately $650 million. Some of the mentioned highlights include pay increases of 2% a year, a signing bonus of up to $1000, newly-introduced job security, and a $10 million health and safety fund.

The offer, however, is only available for a limited time and will expire on Saturday, November 17, just before midnight.

According to Canada Post, the deadline is to ensure that a resolution is met before the holiday rush.  In a statement, the company explained that the offer was “only affordable” if the current backlogs are cleared before the consumer holidays.

They also commented that the “Canadian retail economy [is] at risk if more than half of Canada’s holiday parcel capacity is compromised.”

In an email to Daily Hive, Canada Post made no comment on the state of their tabled offer but shared that strikes have shut down most of Manitoba and are currently affecting Victoria, Edmonton, Ontario, and New Brunswick.

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