With a nationwide strike just hours away, Canada Post has tabled a final offer to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) that would guarantee up to seven weeks of paid vacation, improved short-term disability leave, and 13.59 per cent in compounded wage increases.
The Crown corporation announced Wednesday that it had submitted new “global offers” to both its Urban and Rural and Suburban Mail Carrier bargaining units.
The move comes after CUPW served a 72-hour strike notice, with up to 55,000 workers prepared to walk off the job at midnight on Friday.
“Canada Post and CUPW are negotiating at a critical moment for the postal system,” the company said. “Another labour disruption would be costly and disruptive for employees, small businesses and the millions of Canadians who rely on the postal system.”
Some companies have already begun sending warnings to their customers about potential upcoming service disruptions.
Under the final offer, current employees would retain key entitlements. Some retained benefits include defined benefit pensions, health and post-retirement benefits, existing work schedules, and job security provisions. The offer also includes vacation allotments of up to seven weeks, pre-retirement leave, and a cost-of-living allowance to protect against unforeseen inflation.
The wage offer includes a six per cent pay increase in year one, followed by increases of three, two, and two per cent respectively over the next three years. Employees would also receive six additional personal days, which would be locked into the new collective agreements.
In a reversal from earlier proposals, Canada Post confirmed it is no longer pursuing a new health benefits plan, changes to post-retirement entitlements, or a shift to a defined contribution pension for new hires.
The company’s revised offer also reflects operational reforms aimed at addressing its crippling financial state, including over $3 billion in losses since 2018 and a $1.03 billion line of credit issued by the federal government earlier this year to avoid insolvency.
“Canada Post is facing an existential crisis: It is effectively insolvent, or bankrupt,” warned William Kaplan, head of the Industrial Inquiry Commission appointed to assess the situation. “Without thoughtful, measured, staged, but immediate changes, its fiscal situation will continue to deteriorate.”
Facing looming bankruptcy and being billions of dollars in debt, the offer includes introducing guaranteed part-time positions (15–40 hours per week). These roles would include pension and health benefits and are designed to increase delivery flexibility — particularly on weekends — without forcing full-time letter carriers into weekend shifts.
Any future employees would receive health and pension benefits after six months of regular employment.
Canada Post also proposes limited implementation of Dynamic Routing at 10 facilities, an industry-standard logistics model that adjusts routes daily to meet customer demand. The model is used by private-sector couriers.
If no deal is reached by Friday at midnight, Canada Post says it will stop accepting new parcels and store undelivered items until operations resume.