Back-to-work legislation was approved by the Senate Monday night, forcing postal workers back on the job.
Workers are expected back to work Tuesday afternoon, but Canada Post said the backlog of mail and parcels is expected to “worsen significantly” once orders from Black Friday and Cyber Monday are processed.
It said delivery delays are being experienced across the country and are expected to continue into January.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) issued a statement Monday that said that it is “exploring all options to fight the back-to-work legislation.”
“Postal workers are rightly dismayed and outraged,” said CUPW national president Mike Palecek. “This law violates our right to free collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
Some senators, independents, Liberal independents and even some Conservatives agreed and voted against the bill.
The bill was approved 53-25. It gives a government-appointed mediator or arbitrator 90 days to try to reach a contract settlement.
Along with better pay and job security the union said it wants guaranteed hours for its 8,000 rural and suburban carriers, equality for those workers with the corporation’s 42,000 urban employees and rules that would cut down on workplace injuries, which it said is now at a “crisis” level.
The union said the new legislation will force workers to go back to work under the old collective agreement, which it argues would result in at least 315 disabling injuries and thousands of hours of forced, unpaid overtime.
*With files from the Canadian Press
