Canada Post is submitting an updated offer to the union representing 55,000 postal workers who walked off the job last week. (Credit: CBC)
Canada Post has withdrawn a signing bonus from its latest proposal to striking postal workers, citing severe financial strain as the reason. The Crown corporation says the incentive, once part of its May offer, is no longer affordable.
“Due to the company’s deteriorating financial situation, a signing bonus for employees is no longer on the table,” Canada Post said in a statement released Friday.
The company described the revised offer as a step toward modernization while ensuring stable jobs and long-term benefits for its workforce.
Wage Increase, Benefits and Vacation Still Offered
Despite the withdrawal of bonuses, the new offer includes many features from its earlier proposal. Canada Post continues to offer a 13.59 percent wage hike spread over four years, alongside health and retirement benefits, and up to seven weeks of paid vacation.
Back in May, the corporation had proposed signing bonuses between $500 and $1,000 for unionized workers upon ratifying a new collective agreement. Those incentives have now been dropped as losses deepen.
Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have dragged on for over 18 months. Workers resumed strike action last week after the federal government announced sweeping operational reforms for the postal service.
Union Rejects Offer, Calls It a Step Back
CUPW strongly criticized the latest proposal, calling it “a major step backwards.”
“We waited 45 days for an offer worse than what we rejected in August,” the union said Friday. “Canada Post must have known we couldn’t accept these terms and is simply wasting more time.”
In August, CUPW had countered with a demand for a 19 percent wage increase over four years.
Mounting Losses and Government Intervention
Canada Post has not recorded a profit since 2017. The corporation lost $841 million in 2024 and is projected to lose around $1.5 billion this year.
Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound recently described the postal service as “effectively insolvent,” adding that federal bailouts were not a long-term solution.
Lightbound unveiled a series of structural changes aimed at stabilizing the corporation’s finances. These include phasing out home mail delivery for the remaining four million addresses and shifting to community mailboxes — a move expected to save $400 million annually over nine years.
Mail delivery methods will also change, with non-urgent mail to be routed by ground instead of air, reducing costs by about $20 million a year.
Rural Post Offices and Workforce Reduction
The government also plans to lift the 1994 moratorium on closing rural post offices, covering nearly 4,000 sites. However, officials assured that essential postal services will continue in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.
To meet new efficiency goals, Canada Post told CUPW it will offer voluntary buyouts worth up to 78 weeks’ pay. Layoffs will only occur if attrition and incentives fail to meet workforce reduction targets.
Laid-off employees will retain recall rights for two years, keep accruing seniority, and remain eligible for supplementary benefits.
While the government calls these reforms vital for survival, postal workers say they threaten good jobs and the future of public mail delivery in Canada.
