Five months after the end of a nationwide strike, Canada Post workers could be returning to the picket lines as early as May 22 when the current collective agreements expire.
The Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) returned to the bargaining table on Wednesday, after failing to come to a deal in March.
“The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is back at the negotiating table with Canada Post working to secure new collective agreements for our urban and rural and suburban mail carriers bargaining units,” the union said in an email to Global News.
Canada Post said in a news release Tuesday that the two parties were working with a mediator to continue discussions that stopped in March.
If no deal is reached, Canadians could see another labour disruption.
“The parties continued to meet to negotiate during the [Industrial Inquiry Commission] process but have not yet been able to reach an agreement,” said Lisa Liu, a spokesperson for Canada Post.
“While our top priority remains reaching collective agreements that reflect the critical changes needed at the table, we’re preparing for a number of potential outcomes, including the possibility of a labour disruption on or after May 22.”
CUPW’s nationwide strike last fall ended in December after the federal labour relations board ordered workers back to work following a request by then-Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon.
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MacKinnon at the time had asked the board to do so if the board agreed with his determination there was an “impasse” in negotiations.
The potential disruption has spurred some Canadian banks including TD Bank, RBC and MBNA to begin warning customers about “a potential Canada Post service disruption” that “could begin in May of this year,” according to emails sent to clients, as well as notices on their websites.
In a post on X on Dec. 16, MacKinnon said an industrial inquiry commission would be looking into the structural issues of the conflict and issue a report on May 15, while adding that the board ordered for the current collective agreements to be extended, which the union says ends on May 22.
Hearings for that commission have concluded with the commissioner to present a report and recommendations to the minister of labour by May 15.
“We are committed to the bargaining process as we strive to reach new collective agreements that will help us better serve the changing needs of businesses and Canadians, while providing good jobs to those who provide that service,” Canada Post wrote in a news release.
The union in its email to Global News on Thursday and a news release on Tuesday said if progress is made in Wednesday and Thursday’s meetings, “talks will continue.”
It also noted it is working towards agreements that “provide workers with fair wages, health and safety protections, job security, and the right to retire with dignity.”
But the Crown corporation warned in an earlier release on April 3 that with the collective agreements ending soon, “this means a labour disruption could happen as early as May 22, but not before.”
The corporation has warned in recent months it is facing a “critical financial situation,” with managers being laid off in February, while also eliminating 20 per cent of its senior roles in January.
The cash-strapped company got a financial lifeline from the federal government last month to the tune of up to $1.034 billion in repayable funding through the 2025-26 fiscal year.
—with files from Global News’ Saba Aziz and The Canadian Press
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