Senate passes legislation to end country-wide Canada Post strikes

Nov 27 2018, 9:56 pm

Federal legislation will put Canada Post workers back on the job at 12 pm ET on Tuesday, November 27, forcing an end to the union’s rotating strikes.

The Senate voted to pass Bill C-89 on Monday, and it received Royal Assent on the same day.

The vote passed by a margin of 53 to 25 after being rushed through the House of Commons last week as the Canada Post walkouts entered their sixth week.

The government deemed the bill to be urgent due to the economic impact of the mail disruptions throughout the country during the busy holiday season.

The legislation was a last resort after the government spent over a year trying to see Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

Since October, CUPW members had been holding rotating walkouts in an effort to force Canada Post to agree to their contract demands, causing massive backlogs at postal depots across the county.

Last Wednesday, the union representing Canadian postal workers said, “Canada Post has not moved on any of our key issues,” and that it’s “ready to negotiate.”

Senator Peter Harder urged senators on Monday to push forward with the legislation. “I’m gratified that after two days of intense debate the Senate did what, in my view, is the right thing and passed this legislation,” he said.

The CUPW has since issued a statement claiming that they are “exploring all options to fight the back-to-work legislation.”

“Postal workers are rightly dismayed and outraged,” said CUPW national president Mike Palecek. “This law violates our right to free collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Some senators agreed with the CUPW and voted against the bill but the majority concluded that it’s the court’s decision.

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