Canada Post operations are set to resume at 8 am local time on Tuesday, December 17, following an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board for the 55000 striking employees to return to work.
This decision came after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon directed the board to intervene if a resolution was not reached by the end of the year.
The board concluded that negotiations between Canada Post and Canadian Union of Postal Workers had reached an impasse after two days of hearings.
To facilitate further negotiations, the labour board has extended the union contracts through May. In the interim, Canada Post has agreed to a five percent wage increase for employees, retroactive to the expiration of the previous collective agreements.
The union has not yet commented on the resumption of work.
The government’s intervention, using section 107 of the Labour Code, comes amid pressure from business groups concerned about delivery disruptions during the holiday shopping season.
This approach differs from previous interventions in railway and port disputes, where binding arbitration was imposed.
MacKinnon described the decision as a “creative solution,” emphasizing the need for a timeout due to the hardened positions and the apparent impasse in negotiations.
Keith Hopper, Trending 55
