Two Canada Post letter mail deposit boxes. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia Broadcasting
Postal workers across Canada have started refusing all overtime, marking a new phase in ongoing labour action against Canada Post.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), which represents about 55,000 employees, says members will not work beyond eight hours per day or 40 hours per week. The move is described as a legal strike action aimed at pressuring the Crown corporation without immediately halting mail service.
The announcement came as CUPW reached a legal strike position and followed a short meeting with Canada Post late Thursday, which failed to produce any progress. According to Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu, the union raised only a few of many unresolved issues and has yet to formally respond to the company’s latest contract offer.
Central issues in the negotiations include wage increases and proposed changes to weekend staffing. The union is seeking a 19 percent wage hike, citing the impact of inflation, while Canada Post wants to expand the use of part-time workers, particularly on weekends, to manage rising parcel volumes without paying overtime to full-time staff.
CUPW says the company wants to increase the share of part-time positions in urban areas by 20 percent. Some staff could be assigned up to 30 hours weekly, raising concerns about job security and working conditions.
Earlier in the week, the union proposed a two-week truce to review the latest offers, but Canada Post declined.
Meanwhile, a federally commissioned report released last week proposed significant reforms to the postal service, calling it financially unsustainable. It recommended phasing out daily door-to-door delivery for homes, shifting to community mailboxes, closing rural post offices, and focusing more on parcel delivery. It also suggested maintaining part-time roles—but with compensation equivalent to full-time work—to avoid creating unstable “gig” jobs.
A full strike remains a possibility. If it happens, it would be the second major postal disruption in less than a year. The previous strike halted deliveries during the holiday season, costing small businesses an estimated $1.6 billion, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
In the first nine months of 2024, Canada Post reported an $803 million operating loss and has received more than $1 billion in federal loans since.
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