Canada Post says it will begin restarting mail operations this weekend as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers shifts from a national walkout to rotating strikes, beginning Saturday, Oct. 11 at 6 a.m. local time.
The move follows more than two weeks of a full shutdown that halted mail and parcel delivery across the country.
In a statement on Friday, Canada Post said it will “welcome back” employees represented by CUPW and begin a safe, phased restart of its national network, which had been shut down on Sept. 25 following the union’s strike action.
The corporation warned customers to expect delays as operations resume, and added that the shift to rotating strikes will introduce uncertainty and instability. All service guarantees are suspended until further notice.
“Shutting down and restarting parts of our integrated national network with rotating strikes has always challenged our ability to provide reliable service,” the company said, noting that disruptions over the past year have already driven some businesses and individuals to switch to other carriers.
Canada Post said Canadians have endured more than 170 days of strike activity in less than a year, including two full national strikes, which it said have placed significant financial strain on the corporation and eroded public confidence.
Parcel movement resumes
CUPW confirmed in its own update that it will begin rotating strikes Saturday, allowing some mail and parcels to resume movement while continuing its fight for what it calls “good collective agreements and a strong public postal service.”
The union stressed that the decision was not made lightly and argued that postal workers would prefer to be delivering mail rather than striking.
“We could not stand by as the Government announced its plans to allow Canada Post to gut our postal service and slash thousands of our jobs,” CUPW national president Jan Simpson said in a statement.
The union accused Canada Post of chipping away at postal services and worker rights in successive contracts, calling the company’s latest offer “an outright attack on public service.”
CUPW also thanked its members, the public, and political allies in the NDP and the Bloc Québécois for their support, and said it has a follow-up meeting scheduled next week with Minister Joël Lightbound’s office to discuss next steps.
Canada Post said it is awaiting the union’s response to its latest offers, submitted Oct. 3, which it described as affordable and fair. The company urged CUPW to return to the bargaining table to reach new collective agreements that would restore confidence in the postal system and reduce dependence on taxpayer dollars.
While limited mail service is expected to resume over the coming week, Canadians are being told to brace for continued delays and interruptions until a new deal is reached. The two sides remain far apart, with no confirmed timeline for the return of full service.
