How your mail will be affected if Canada Post workers go on strike this week
Another Canada Post strike could hit mailboxes across the nation this week.
The Crown corporation says it has received strike notices from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) for both Urban and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) bargaining units.
“The notices indicate that CUPW intends to begin strike activity on Friday, May 23 at [midnight] local time,” reads a Canada Post statement from Monday.
So, how might this affect your mail?
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The postal service says a labour disruption would affect millions of Canadians and businesses.
If the CUPW begins rotating strike activity, Canada Post plans to continue delivering in unaffected areas while working to reach negotiated agreements.
The Crown corporation adds that it will work to minimize service disruptions, but customers may experience delays.
“In the event of a national labour disruption, mail and parcels will not be delivered and no new items will be accepted until the disruption is over,” reads a statement. “All mail and parcels in our network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume.”
This comes after Canada Post workers paused their national strike at the end of last year for the Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) to be conducted. The collective agreements between Canada Post and the CUPW were ordered extended until May 22, 2025.
The IIC report, which was released last Friday, found that the postal service is “effectively insolvent, or bankrupt.”
It recommended several changes like phasing out part of Canada Post’s door-to-door delivery, ending the moratoriums on rural post office closures, and amending the collective agreement between the Crown corporation and its workers to allow for flexible use of part-time employees during the week and on weekends.
The CUPW responded on Friday, saying the IIC findings “skew heavily in favour of Canada Post’s positions and recommendations.”
“These recommendations amount to service cuts, contracting out, and major rollbacks to important provisions in our existing collective agreements,” reads a statement from the union. “There is also no guarantee that if these changes are made, Canada Post will increase its parcel business.”
Canada Post employees aren’t the only ones expected to strike soon. Unifor DHL Express Canada members could walk off the job next month if a deal isn’t reached with their employer.