Three weeks after the conclusion of the Canada Post strike, the courier reinstated its on-time service guarantees and returned to full service levels for domestic parcels, saying that its nationwide delivery network has “stabilized.”
But delays remain for domestic and international mail and foreign parcels, which could last several days, the government agency said.
Canada Post said Tuesday that additional weekend hours helped workers process all accumulated parcels.
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According to the courier, the on-time service guarantees for domestic parcels are in effect for items inducted as of Monday. Additionally, the peak season on-time delivery guarantee modification will be applicable through Jan. 12.
The delivery firm says it has returned to normal processing and delivery levels for packages across Canada, including rural and remote areas.
Canada Post said it is “fully caught up” on returns and will process new returns based on normal timelines. All return labels created on or after Oct. 15 will remain valid for up to 45 days.
“While we’ve taken care of the parcels in our network, we continue to work through higher volumes of Transaction Mail and Neighbourhood Mail,” the update read.
The national courier said it will continue to process accumulated domestic Transaction Mail, which refers to mail such as letters, bills and statements, alongside the new volumes entering their network.
For commercial Transaction Mail, customers should “continue to expect delivery delays of several days beyond our service standard,” but Canada Post hasn’t specified delay times.
Neighbourhood Mail, which is typically reserved for businesses and entities sending cards and direct mail promotions en masse, will also have several-day delays, as a “significant amount” of volume still needs to be processed and delivered.
Canada Post said it is focused on delivering the volume currently in its network, and is not ready to resume date-specific Neighbourhood Mail.
With a significant amount of Neighbourhood Mail still to be processed and delivered, customers should continue to expect delivery delays of several days.
The Crown corporation said in the update that it would keep customers informed on progress, and the timeline of expected returns to normal delivery standards for both Transaction Mail and Neighbourhood Mail.
For international mail and parcels, Canada Post said it continues to work through the accumulated volumes “at a good pace.” However, customers should still expect several-day delivery delays for incoming international items.
In addition, the United States Postal Service (USPS) resumed acceptance of mail and packages bound for Canada on Monday, which it had previously suspended during the month-long strike.
The USPS said in a statement Canada Post has made “significant progress in clearing delayed volumes caused by their employee strike, and now commercial and retail customers, as well as those using online systems, will be able to send mail and packages to Canada once again.”
Holiday delivery backlogs had flooded the supply chain so much in the wake of the 55,000 worker strike that third-party delivery firms like Canada Post-owned Purolator and UPS both had to temporarily suspend shipments from other courier companies.
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the strike cost SMBs at least $76.6 million Canadian dollars ($53.2 million) per day during a pivotal shipping season.
The striking labor union, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), said it would appear before the Canada Industrial Relations Board on Jan. 27-28 to legally challenge the back-to-work order levied by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon.
That directive ensured that the employees will be working without a new contract, with the existing agreement now extended to May 22.
The current contract between the Canada Post and the CUPW initially expired on Dec. 31, 2023 for the union’s rural and suburban mail carriers unit and on Jan. 31, 2024 for the urban unit.
With the contract situation not expected to be resolved until May, when an appointed commission is expected to recommend its resolution to the talks, the union awaits the fate of the Canadian government as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau transitions out of the role this spring. With Trudeau resigning as Liberal party leader, Canada’s parliament has been halted until March 24.
“By suspending parliamentary activities, critical discussions, debates, and legislative processes concerning workers’ rights, labour laws, or union-specific issues may be delayed or abandoned,” the CUPW said in a statement Wednesday. “This interruption can stall progress on key reforms that CUPW and other unions might be advocating for, such as improved working conditions, wage increases, or protections for gig economy workers.”
