Canada Post said the strike threat is having a “rapid impact” on its revenue as customers switch delivery services worried that their holiday packages won’t arrive on time.
“Retailers seeking reliable shipping during this critical time are moving packages to other delivery companies,” the Crown corporation said in a statement Monday night.
“Customers have also canceled direct marketing campaigns to avoid goods being stuck in the postal network during the strike.”
The statement said mail and parcel volumes have “significantly decreased and continues to decline” and warned that the threat of a strike would only worsen the company’s deteriorating financial position.
Canada Post and its unionized employees have been negotiating contracts for nearly a year. Last month, 95% of workers voted in favor of a strike.
Negotiations continued over the weekend, with both sides escalating their claims on Monday. Unions must give Canada Post 72 hours’ notice before a strike occurs.
“If there is no real movement at the bargaining table, we will not hesitate to take the next step,” the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said in a media statement Monday.
“The need for urgency is now,” Canada Post said in a statement. “Due to the deterioration of its financial position, the company may need to revise its proposal.”
Main issues with weekend delivery
Canada Post has lost $3 billion since 2018, with losses of $490,000 in the first six months of this year alone. Crown Corporation said it needed to expand night and weekend parcel deliveries to compete with other companies.
Both the company and the union pointed to the promotion of weekend deliveries as a problem.
“To date, unions have resisted change or called for significant constraints on our flexible delivery proposals, which would negate any potential benefits of the change,” Canada Post wrote.
Canada Post has a monopoly on letter delivery in Canada. But financial reports show the Crown corporation has lost $748 million this year alone and is expected to run out of cash by early 2025. Andrew Chan explains how the company is unable to meet demand even when parcel deliveries are at an all-time high. Breaks and what they mean for email.
The union says it wants to make sure the changes Canada Post is pursuing don’t jeopardize normal full-time weekday routes.
The union said: “We are not satisfied that the employer’s plan protects our working weekdays,” adding: “Employers’ main interest is in providing ‘flexibility’ to deliver packages at the lowest possible cost. The goal is to realize ‘sexuality’.”
CUPW said Canada Post is also reluctant to improve its short-term disability plan.
“Unfortunately, the employer has shown little willingness to consider our request to include 10 medical days and 7 personal days as part of the collective bargaining agreement,” the union wrote.
Federal Labor Secretary Stephen McKinnon said federal mediators appointed in mid-October continue to work to avert a labor dispute.
“It’s a very tough negotiation. There are some big issues at stake. The good news is the parties are still in dialogue,” McKinnon said Tuesday.
