The Canadian mail system will attempt to get back to normal after Canadian legislators passed a bill ending a two-week lockout and allowing employees back to work.
According to Canada Post, the country’s mail service, Canadians should start receiving mail on Tuesday, June 28. Post offices that had been closed will be reopened at that time. The United States Postal Service will also start accepting mail being sent into Canada on Tuesday, said Patricia Licata, a spokesperson for USPS.
In a press release, Canada Post officials said they expect it will take some time to return to normal delivery standards as it goes through all the un-processed mail. Canada Post locked out nearly 50,000 employees on Tuesday, June 14, after the employee union conducted 12 days of rotating strikes.
On Saturday, June 18 the USPS stopped accepting mail destined for Canada, leaving Americans with the option of either holding onto the mail or paying extra fees to have it sent by private shipping services such as FedEx or UPS.
According to news reports in several Canadian newspapers, the sticking points in the contract negotiations include wages and potential changes in the sick leave plan. Canada Post and the employee union attempted to negotiate a new contract for seven months prior to the start of rotating strikes.
Over the weekend the back-to-work bill introduced in Canada’s House of Commons passed after several days of debate. According to Canadian media reports, some legislators were against the bill because it undermined workers’ rights to collective bargaining.
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