Postal employees head back to work as union challenges strike intervention

Canada Post trucks, conveyors and mail carriers are moving again after a month-long strike by more than 55,000 postal workers left letters and parcels in limbo.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered postal workers back on the job following hearings over the weekend to determine whether the two sides stood too far apart to reach a deal by year's end.

The hearings came after a directive to the labour board from Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, who said Friday he was giving the two sides a "timeout" as negotiations seemed to have stalled.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is contesting the move, with the labour board set to hear its challenges in mid-January, the union said.

The government already faces legal challenges to similar interventions in other recent high-profile labour disputes, including the work stoppage at the country's two main freight railways in August.

Canada Post warned this week that customers should expect delays as it works through backlogs, and that holdups could persist into the new year.

"With a large, integrated network of processing plants, depots and post offices, stabilizing operations will take time and the company asks Canadians for their patience," it said in a release Monday.

The first step involves "working through the mail and parcels trapped in the system" since the strike began on Nov. 15.

Post offices will not take new letters and packages until Thursday.

Fredericton resident Jon MacNeill said the 32-day strike "wasn't the end of the world."

"I was happy with waiting until they got back,” he said.

MacNeill said he normally avoids shipping gifts, but plans to send some off this year after some of his family moved to Newfoundland.

“I didn't bother going a private route because my family's pretty flexible .… I think we're fortunate to have public services like this in Canada, and if we don’t use them and support them then we might not always have them.”

While there was no line, a steady stream of people started trickling into the city's downtown post office around 9:30 a.m.

Fellow Frederictonian Mary Bardsley arrived at the building bearing Christmas cards and a Tim Hortons gift card for employees. She said she's not worried about her holiday mail being held up.

“I’ve lived a long life,” Bardsley said with a laugh. “I can cope with almost anything.”

Meanwhile, the dispute continues to simmer between Canada Post and its workers.

Key issues include the size of wage increases and a push by Canada Post to expand delivery to the weekend, with the two sides at odds over how to staff the move.

The money-losing Crown corporation has pitched the expansion as a way to boost revenue and compete with other carriers, arguing that a mix of part-time and full-time shifts will create flexibility while keeping costs down. However, the union has characterized this as an attack on full-time work.

The government has appointed an industrial inquiry commission to look into the sticking points and come up with recommendations by May 15 on how a new agreement can be secured.

"The inquiry will have a broad scope, as it will examine the entire structure of Canada Post from both a customer and business model standpoint, considering the challenging business environment now facing Canada Post," the labour minister said Friday.