Canada Post Operations to Resume on Tuesday, December 17 Following CIRB Ruling

CIRB Has Ordered Postal Workers Back to Work!

Ottawa – Canada Post operations are to resume on Tuesday, December 17th following a Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ruling.

On December 13, the Minister of Labour established a process with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to assess the likelihood of Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) reaching agreements by the end of 2024.

In a media release from Canada Post, “After two days of hearings, the CIRB has issued its ruling confirming the parties are at an impasse. As a result, the CIRB has ordered employees to return to work and postal operations to begin to resume at 8 am local time on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. We will share further details shortly, but want to remind employees and customers that our operations will remain closed on Monday, December 16.”

In its decision, the CIRB determined that it was “unlikely that the parties will reach negotiated agreements by December 31, 2024” and ordered CPC and the employees of both bargaining units to “resume and continue their duties, in each case effective 8:00 a.m., local time, on December 17, 2024, until May 22, 2025.” 

“This decision is disappointing, to say the least for CUPW and all of our members who made sacrifices to fight for what is right and our rights to negotiate improvements to our working conditions. CUPW will still challenge the constitutionality and the current application of section 107 by the Minister of Labour. Our challenges will be heard by the CIRB on January 13 and 14, 2025. ” said Carl Girouard, National Grievance Officer with the CUPW in a statement issued on Monday. “Furthermore, in its decision, the CIRB directed CPC to implement the wage increase of 5% that was part of their last offer for the first year of the collective agreements. This wage increase is a “baseline” wage increase, and the Union will still be in a position to negotiate an additional percentage wage increase for that same year during the period leading to May 22, 2025. This wage increase will apply to all paid hours going forward upon the return to work and will also be retroactive to January 1, 2024, for the RSMC bargaining unit and February 1, 2024, for the Urban bargaining unit. ”

The union also said, “In addition, CPC will pay to all regular employees from the Urban bargaining units and all route owners and Permanent Relief Employees (PRE) in the RSMC bargaining unit, a part of the retroactive payment in the amount of $1000 by December 24, 2024. They will also pay and amount of $500 to all Temporary workers in the Urban bargaining unit and On Call Relief Employees (OCRE) in the RSMC bargaining unit that have worked a thousand (1000) hours in 2024 by the same date. ”

From Canada Post: What this means for customers

Given the timing and duration of the strike, when our operations resume we will need to begin processing the mail and parcels trapped in our network. It will take time to clear our network, so customers should expect delays in processing and delivery.

Some limitations will apply for the first 48 hours after our operations resume – including for pickups and drop-offs. Because of this, we will not receive or pick up new products until Thursday, December 19.

We’re committed to giving customers as much information as possible regarding specific timelines and capacity. This includes providing details on what to expect during the first few days and as we continue to stabilize operations.

Look for more information later today and in the coming days.

Retroactive pay increase to employees as the process unfolds

We look forward to welcoming our employees back to work and serving the millions of Canadians and businesses who rely on our services. While the terms of the existing collective agreements will be extended until May 22, 2025, we also put forward an offer to implement a wage increase of five percent for employees, which was proposed in the company’s last global offer.

With both parties in agreement, the wage increase will be retroactive to the day after each collective agreement expires. The increase will remain in effect going forward, and the retroactive portion will be paid out to current employees in two portions:

• An upfront payment before Christmas of $1,000 for all CUPW-represented regular employees (full-time and part-time) and $500 for temporary employees based on a minimum number of hours.
• The wage increase and retroactive payment will be made no later than January 31, 2025.

Collective agreements between Canada Post and CUPW expired on December 31, 2023, for the RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) unit and on January 31, 2024, for the urban unit.