As Canada Post strike hits 1-week mark, some urge Ottawa to step in

As a nationwide Canada Post onslaught reaches the one-week mark, the national authorities is being urged by immoderate to instantly measurement successful to extremity the labour disruption.

The telephone from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business on Friday came arsenic the Crown corp reported yet different multi-million-dollar nonaccomplishment successful the 3rd 4th portion it braces for a seventh successive yearly nonaccomplishment this year.

More than 55,000 Canada Post workers went connected onslaught past Friday, halting message and parcel services crossed the country. Some station offices person besides been shuttered amid the occupation action.

The Crown corp and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are holding talks this week with a peculiar mediator, appointed by the national government. But determination has been small denotation of an extremity to the labour dispute.

The CFIB, which represents 97,000 tiny and medium-sized concern (SME) owners crossed the country, said the onslaught is negatively impacting Canadian businesses and wants Ottawa to intervene.

“The vacation play is important for these tiny businesses,” the CFIB wrote successful a letter sent to Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon that was dated Nov. 20.

“SMEs cannot carnivore the costs of enactment stoppages successful federally regulated sectors each clip negotiations betwixt a national and an leader are astatine an impasse.”

“We truthful impulse you to intervene, conscionable arsenic you person already done doubly this year, by imposing either binding arbitration oregon back-to-work legislation.

“Small concern owners would similar to spot you enactment with condemnation for the wide bully of the country.”

Most Canadians (57 per cent) are besides successful favour of the authorities intervening successful the ongoing postal strike, according to a Leger canvass released this week.

The national authorities has urged some parties to scope a corporate agreement. Ottawa has not indicated that it volition see back-to-work authorities oregon binding arbitration to extremity the strike.

Speaking to reporters successful Ottawa connected Wednesday, MacKinnon said: “We lone person 1 strategy with Canada Post, and that is intensive mediation and we anticipation to span the spread betwixt the parties.”

MacKinnon’s property caput told Global News Thursday evening that astatine the moment, the national authorities is intimately pursuing the negotiations betwixt the 2 parties.

The national authorities has intervened successful caller enactment stoppages.

Earlier this month, MacKinnon imposed binding arbitration to extremity shutdowns astatine Canada’s largest ports successful British Columbia and Quebec. In August, helium did the aforesaid to bring an extremity to the enactment stoppage astatine the country’s 2 largest railways.

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The onslaught comes arsenic Canada Post has been struggling amid steep fiscal losses.

On Friday, the nationalist mailing work reported a nonaccomplishment earlier taxation of $315 cardinal successful the 3rd 4th of 2024 amid a diminution successful parcel gross and volumes.

Canada Post’s Q3 gross from parcels dipped by 5.8 per cent and volumes declined by six cardinal pieces, oregon 9.6 per cent, compared with the aforesaid clip past year.

“An progressively crowded and highly competitory ecommerce transportation marketplace continued to interaction Parcels results successful the 3rd 4th of 2024,” Canada Post said successful a quality release.

“While Transaction Mail volumes continued to erode, gross roseate owed to a regulated stamp complaint increase.”

Canada Post is anticipating different “significant loss” this year, which would beryllium the seventh successive yearly nonaccomplishment for the company.