Canada Post Removes Signing Bonus, Deepens Rift with Postal Workers
Canada Post has withdrawn signing bonuses from its latest contract offer to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), citing severe financial strain as nationwide strikes stretch into their second week.
In a statement Friday, the Crown corporation said the bonus — previously valued between $500 and $1,000 — was no longer feasible due to “the company’s deteriorating financial situation.” The updated proposal maintains a 13.59% wage hike over four years, continued health and retirement benefits, and up to seven weeks of vacation.
CUPW condemned the move, saying the new offer represents “major steps backwards.”
“We waited 45 days for offers that are worse than what we rejected in August,” the union said. “Canada Post must have known we couldn’t accept this — it’s a waste of time.”
The union’s counter-proposal seeks a 19% raise over four years, but Canada Post — which hasn’t turned a profit since 2017 — insists it must modernize to survive.
Financial Crisis and Modernization Push
Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound recently said the corporation loses $10 million daily, warning it is “effectively insolvent.” To stabilize operations, Ottawa has directed Canada Post to end home delivery for four million households, convert to community mailboxes, and shift non-urgent mail from air to ground transport to save costs.
Lightbound also lifted the decades-old ban on closing rural post offices, though the government pledged to preserve access for remote and Indigenous communities.
These changes align with a 2025 Industrial Inquiry Commission report noting that mail volumes have fallen from 5.5 billion letters in 2006 to 2.2 billion in 2023, despite three million new addresses.
Buyouts and Workforce Reductions
As part of the overhaul, Canada Post said it will offer voluntary buyouts worth up to 78 weeks’ pay, while layoffs will remain a last resort. Employees who are laid off will retain recall rights for two years and continue to accrue seniority.
“Reducing the workforce through attrition will always be the first choice,” the corporation said, “but it cannot be the only option through this transformation.”
CUPW has rejected these plans, calling them an “attack on good jobs and public services.”
