For almost two weeks, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has been on strike against Canada Post fighting for fair wages, safe working conditions, the right for all workers to retire with dignity, and the expansion of public postal services for all communities. But rather than make an effort to bargain good collective agreements that meet the needs of postal workers and the public, Canada Post has dug in its heels.
Canada Post’s latest information update of November 26 describing what is going on at the bargaining table is full of half-truths and outright deception.
First and foremost, CUPW left the meetings Tuesday since we cannot proceed without Canada Post’s negotiators. They had to go back to speak to the Executive Board of Canada Post for further direction.
Over the weekend, Canada Post informed the public and CUPW members, through the media, that CUPW Negotiators had spent Saturday at the bargaining table talking about cleaners working inside Canada Post facilities. This is an outright misrepresentation.
On November 22, Canada Post released its financial results for the 3rd quarter of 2024.
For the three months ending in September 2024, the Corporation reported a loss from operations of $313 million. Overall revenue was down $15 million compared to the same time last year, as growing revenue from Neighbourhood Mail and Transaction Mail were not enough to offset lower parcel volumes.
In several regions across the country, Canada Post has been calling CUPW members to lay them off. While some are saying it is temporary, we’ve heard stories that it may be more permanent. These types of phone calls are merely a scare tactic by Management. We urge members not to panic if you receive such a call. Instead, take note of what the management representative says and then request a record of employment and estimated date of return in order to allow you to apply for EI benefits.
Canada Post is a public service, not a profit-driven corporation, even though it operated profitably for many years. Postal workers deliver to every address in the country, including where competitors won’t go because they can’t make a profit. During our ongoing negotiations, we’ve heard countless stories about how much people rely on Canada Post. Without this public service, many people must travel far distances and pay much more for alternative services, if any even exist. The reported losses published over the last few years don’t tell the whole story. Canada Post has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to grow its parcel business, yet overall labour costs have decreased during the last few years.
On day 6 of our nationwide strike, we continued talks with the Employer with the help of the government-appointed mediators.
Discussions focused on the same issues as the day before.
In a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday night, Jean-Yves Duclos, the Minister responsible for Canada Post, who heads up the Department of Public Service and Procurement Canada, discussed our ongoing strike and the future of Canada Post with the CBC’s Power and Politics show host, Catherine Cullen. The Minister told Ms. Cullen that the service first mandate “will not change” and that includes “serving every Canadian where they live including northern and remote areas.” He also said that parcel delivery was increasing “at a very high speed” which is “good news” for Canada Post.
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Application deadline: June 30, 2025 - On the fifth anniversary of the passing of Sister Megan Whitfield, CUPW is honoured to offer the Megan Whitfield bursary, two financial awards to encourage aspiring trade union activists to continue the important work Sister Whitfield started before her life was cut short.
The Union has now heard back from Canada Post through the federal mediators. The Employer has proposed to return to the bargaining table Wednesday (May 28) to provide the Union with a response to our latest proposals.
Union negotiators and the National Executive Board spent the last few days, and nights, reviewing the Employer’s last offers and preparing responses to issues in the offers and issues important to the Union that the Employer failed to acknowledge.
Today, May 23, is the first day of a nationwide overtime ban. As of 12:01 a.m. today, members were called on to refuse to work more than eight hours a day and more than 40 hours a week. This is a legal strike action and all CUPW members must follow this direction.
The National Executive Board has called for a nationwide overtime ban effective May 23 at 12:00 am local time. That means members are being called on to refuse to work any more than eight hours in a day and refuse to work more than forty hours in a week.
Today, May 21, our negotiation committees received global offers from Canada Post for both the Urban Postal Operation (UPO) and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) bargaining units. The Negotiators are currently reviewing and analyzing the offers’ contents. We will provide a more in-depth analysis shortly, but here are some of the main elements of the offers below...
After walking away from the table for the third time, Canada Post will finally table their global offers today. Our negotiating committee is currently on the way to receive the proposals.
This year, CUPW is proud to celebrate the Pride season under the theme "Workers United Against Hate" proposed by the Canadian Labour Congress. As we face a shocking rise in anti-LGBTQ hate in Canada and around the world, this theme is more important than ever.
On Monday, May 19, CUPW issued a 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post. This action was not taken lightly, but it was done for several reasons.
The collective agreements for the Urban Postal Operations and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers bargaining units, which were extended by the Government in December 2024, are set to expire Friday, May 23 at midnight.
Commissioner Kaplan’s report of the Industrial Inquiry Commission skews heavily in favour of Canada Post’s positions and recommendations. We fundamentally disagree with the bulk of its recommendations and challenge some of the information on which it was based. We have also objected to the entire process, but we felt that we had to participate in order to give voice to postal workers. The report also outlines three possible steps forward after May 22. It is important to note that this is not a done deal. It is up to Minister Patty Hajdu to decide what to do with the report – if anything at all.