Emily Yang (10) | STAFF REPORTER
For nearly 4 weeks, Canadians across the country have been facing a frustrating reality: delayed packages and the detrimental impacts, on both people and businesses. As the country’s primary mail courier, Canada Post, fails to reach a negotiation with its workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the 26-day strike threatens to drag into Christmas — or possibly even longer.
Over the past decade, Canada Post has experienced 3 strikes: one in 2011, one in 2018, and the most recent one in 2024, all of which revolve around the recurring dispute over fair wages and workers’ rights. This year’s strike has been the most intense yet, in both the negotiations and in the mail company’s rapid decline.
Representing approximately 55,000 workers, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has been actively protesting against their current wages and working conditions — and consequently, over 10 million packages have been withheld from expecting vendors, businesses and Black Friday shoppers. The strike was supported by a fatigued and overwhelmed office of postal workers, voicing the physical and mental stressors gnawing away at their health.
Of the many demands in this negotiation, the workers emphasize the need for health and safety improvements, especially amidst extreme temperature variations brought forth by climate change. In provinces with steep hills and unpredictable weather like BC, workers demand for both an improved standard in the weight requirements they must lift and the continued compensation they receive for health illnesses and injuries, especially from areas with frequent wildfires and smoky weather.
However, the main struggle that comes between Canada Post and its workers’ negotiation is the dispute of fair pay and wage negotiations. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) proposed a 23.8% wage increase over a 4 year period whereas the mail courier is offering only 11.5% — and neither side is willing to budge.
Despite having just announced a third quarter loss of $315 million from its strike, the mail courier refuses for further wage negotiations. So why isn’t Canada Post compromising? Simply put, it can’t afford more pay. For the past 6 years, Canada Post’s annual financial statements have reported a cumulative loss of nearly $2.99 billion.
With nearly 63% of their budget allocated towards its labour and employee benefits, the mail courier states that the strike will only worsen the dire financial situation. With the CUPW further claiming that Canada Post is threatening to cancel vacation time and lay off workers, negotiations are at a standstill as the strike enters into its 26th day.
