The Canada Post strike, by the numbers: 29 days spent on the picket line, about 15 million parcel deliveries lost, and an estimated $1.6 billion hit to small businesses.
Driving the news: Nearly 55,000 postal workers are back at work this morning after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered an end to the strike. The federal government had previously said it wouldn’t get involved but faced growing pressure from business groups.
- The union representing the postal workers said the government’s intervention is part of a “deeply troubling pattern” of letting employers off the hook during negotiations.
Why it matters: While government intervention alleviates the potential economic toll of a continued strike, federal mediators have long warned that if both sides know the feds will eventually step in, it can deter honest negotiations and lead to more strikes in the long term.
- Just this year, the feds have ended work stoppages at Canada’s two largest ports as well as a pair of national rail strikes that threatened over a billion dollars in daily trade.
Big picture: With 62 work stoppages in the transportation sector alone over the past two years, experts say Canada’s supply chain woes are damaging its reputation as a reliable trade partner.—LA