Small business owners say Ottawa’s latest moves to try to force an end to the country’s nearly month-long postal strike come too late to save this year’s holiday shopping season.
On Friday, the federal government said the mail could begin moving again as soon as next week, after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced he had referred the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, asking it to order the 55,000 members of CUPW back to work.
Saying negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers “were at a total impasse,” McKinnon also announced he is also appointing an industrial inquiry commission to come up with recommendations by May 15 on how a new contract agreement can be reached.
On the picket lines, members of CUPW denounced the government’s move as an assault on the right to collective bargaining.
“Once again, the government has intervened in a process that should be strictly between the postal workers in Canada post its employer,” said Robert Scobel, past president of CUPW in Calgary.
Get weekly money news
Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.
“Canada Post has refused to negotiate with the union, again, in good faith.”
In a written statement, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business welcomed Ottawa’s move, but added, “it will be too late to salvage any of the Christmas holiday season. With a massive backlog, it will be nearly impossible for any new shipments to make it to Canadians before Christmas through Canada Post,” said president Dan Kelly.
“Yeah, I think … this year is shot,” said Kejin Robinson-Rose, owner of Edmonton-based Black Rose Candles. “The holidays are our busiest time and I think if we look if we compare this year to last year … we’re probably down by 40 per cent year over year.”
Faced with few reasonably-priced alternatives to get their products to customers, Robinson-Rose, like many small retailers has started selling more of her products at events like Calgary’s Market Collective, a pop-up market showcasing local artists, designers, artisans, and musicians.
Elyse Vanramele, owner of The Wild Stuff, says 60 per cent of her business comes from online orders and her main method of shipping is through Canada Post.
“We’ve definitely been at a little bit of a standstill, we’re needing to adjust and figure out other ways to ship packages out to our customers,” said Vanramele.
“I probably won’t know till year’s end what sort of impact it has on us financially.”
“Typically the Christmas season is our busiest time of year in terms of shipping for our e-commerce business,” said Brielle Mitchell, operations manager of Laughing Sparrow, an online jewelry retailer.
“It’s a little bit too late in terms of the holiday season. So it’s not really a relief.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimates the postal strike has cost small businesses a combined $100 million every day.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.