On the eve of the year’s busiest shopping day, Canada’s postal service remains far from resolving a strike that has dragged on for two weeks.
What happened: Negotiations between Canada Post and the union representing its 55,000 postal workers have broken off after a federally appointed mediator ordered the two sides to take a breather and reevaluate their positions. The two sides remain ways away from a deal.
- Talks have stalled over key issues including Canada Post’s plans to offer 7-day deliveries and demands for wage increases and expanded retirement benefits.
- Canada Post has missed out on delivering 11 million parcels since the strike began, while many businesses are turning to more expensive options like UPS or FedEx.
Why it matters: Over three-quarters of Canadian small businesses rely on Canada Post for crucial customer shipments, and many of them can usually expect to bring in up to 40% of their revenue during the holiday shopping season.
- Shopify VP Alexandra Clark tweeted that if the strike drags on through Black Friday, the impact would devastate 67,000 small merchants, particularly online businesses.
What’s next: Despite intervening to end rail and port strikes earlier this year, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said the federal government will not take similar action with Canada Post.—LA