The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has officially given strike notice to Canada Post and workers could walk off the job as early as Monday of next week.
CUPW, which represents 50,000 Canada Post employees, says rotating strikes will begin Monday if a new labour agreement isn’t reached with the Urban Postal Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers bargaining units by that time.
The union and management remain deadlocked at the bargaining table over issues such as improved job security, an end to forced overtime, and better health and safety measures.
Locations for the rotating strikes have not yet been announced.
The possibility of a work stoppage has hovered over Canada Post since September 26 after postal workers voted overwhelmingly to support of a potential walkout to back their contract demands during labour negotiations.
Although the mail has declined in recent years, Canada Post remains the biggest parcel shipping company in the country, having delivered about one million parcels a day during the Christmas season last year — an increase of 20% over the same period in 2016.
