This is what Canada Post declared in a press release Monday morning.
Time is running out as the holidays approach and businesses fear financial losses. Canada Post says it wants to reach new agreements at the negotiating table rather than enter into an arbitration process.
Some 55,000 Canada Post workers went on strike Friday after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer.
At this pivotal time when many Canadians are ordering their Christmas gifts, they tend to turn to private delivery companies.
As proof, Canada Post parcel volumes decreased by 42% last week compared to the same week of the previous year. A situation that risks getting worse as the employee strike continues, reports Canada Post.
“Even if the parties are still very far apart at the table, our plan has always been to continue our operations and maintain this essential service, even in the event of a rotating union strike,” extract from a statement from Canada Post.
The government company has lost more than $3 billion since 2018, and losses continue to accumulate due to competition from private companies.
Canada Post nevertheless says it has offered salary increases of 11.5% over four years to its employees, in addition to adding additional paid leave and protecting the defined benefit pension plan.
Unlike the strike of 1,200 dock workers at the port of Montreal, the federal Minister of Labor, Steven MacKinnon, said he ruled out, at least for the moment, the possibility of legislating to force the return to work of Canada Post workers.
Letters and parcels “neither processed nor delivered”
Throughout the strike, mail and packages will be “neither processed nor delivered” and some post offices will be closed. No new items will be accepted until the nationwide work stoppage ends.
“Mail and packages that are already in the postal network have been secured and will be delivered as soon as possible upon resumption of activities on a first in, first out basis,” Canada Post.
On the other hand, the company stipulates that the strike will have an impact on service well after the end of the strike activities. Processing and delivery will be complicated upon return due to the repercussions of the strike.
Concern among small businesses as the holidays approach
The Canada Post strike that disrupted mail delivery across the country has the small business community worried.
Since the strike began Friday, business owners say they have spent the next few days trying to figure out how to get orders to customers.
Jessica Duffield says that when the strike began, her small business Wishes & Whatchamacallits, which sells pop culture-inspired products, had about 40 orders to process.
Most orders were typically sent by Canada Post, as it was the most affordable shipping option for Ms. Duffield, who is located in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Using alternative delivery services would be much more expensive and many will not track the packages it ships until they arrive in Halifax. So she plans to drive 45 minutes across the U.S. border to Maine to drop off some of the orders in a mailbox.
Duffield said the strike risks upending the busiest time of year for businesses, which begin to see a wave of Black Friday and holiday sales as early as November.
