Canada Post employees represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will vote on multi-year contract offers from the government-owned carrier from July 21 to Aug. 1, according to an announcement Wednesday.
More than 53,000 employees will be able to vote on the proposal applying to their particular bargaining unit, according to Canada Post. One contract offer covers urban workers, and the other addresses rural and suburban mail carriers.
The contracts up for vote call for a 13.59% compounded wage bump over four years for employees, the soft launch of dynamic routing, the introduction of weekend delivery-focused workers and other changes. The union has stood against the proposals in part because they fall short of its 19% pay hike goal.
"If a majority of voters in that bargaining unit accept their offer, it will become the new collective agreement for that unit and bring resolution to this extended round of negotiations," Canada Post said.
The vote on the carrier's "final offers" is being administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board at the behest of Patty Hajdu, the country's minister of jobs and families. Canada Post did not say in its announcement when voting results would be revealed.
The carrier and CUPW have been in negotiations for 19 months, a period in which the union has launched a peak season strike and an overtime ban that remains active today. Shippers have diverted volume to alternatives like FedEx and UPS to limit potential delays.
"Customers are avoiding the uncertainty at Canada Post by using other delivery companies, causing parcel volumes to drop significantly and financial losses to spike," the carrier said. "In June, Canada Post saw losses from operations increase to approximately $10 million a day – more than double the daily average losses in June 2024."
Majority yes votes for both contract proposals could provide some certainty for shippers, but Canada Post's offers are receiving CUPW pushback. The union is encouraging its members to vote no, as sticking points remain over pay, weekend delivery operations and other issues.
"Canada Post’s offers fall far short of what postal workers have earned and deserve," CUPW National Grievance Officer Carl Girouard said Wednesday. "They ignore the realities we face on the workfloor, fail to address our key demands, and attempt to strip away hard-won protections."
If union members reject the deal, National President Jan Simpson said Tuesday that CUPW will maintain its overtime ban but hold off on implementing any strike actions.
"The CUPW Negotiating Committees are ready to return to the bargaining table and negotiate ratifiable collective agreements," Simpson said.
