Canada Post union moves to rotating strikes as talks resume

The union representing Canada Post employees said Thursday it will move from a nationwide strike to rotating strikes beginning Saturday at 6 a.m. local time, a shift the union says will allow some mail and parcels to start moving again after nearly two weeks of work stoppage that halted national deliveries. Canada Post said it will welcome back unionized employees on Saturday and expects postal service to resume next week, but cautioned that service guarantees will remain suspended while uncertainty persists.

The change in tactics followed a Wednesday meeting between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Joël Lightbound, the federal minister responsible for the Crown corporation. The union said it pressed the minister to withdraw recent government-directed changes to Canada Post’s mandate, which include an end to door-to-door delivery for most households within the next decade, an expansion of community mailboxes, relaxed delivery standards to allow more ground transport and the lifting of a moratorium on rural post-office closures. The minister told the union the changes would stand, the union said, and a follow-up meeting is planned.

The government and Canada Post argue the...