Ottawa (AFP) – Canada’s government on Monday legislated an end to rotating postal strikes that threatened a disastrous holiday season for online retailers.
After a rare weekend session, the Senate voted 53-25 for the back-to-work bill. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals introduced the emergency legislation on Friday.
Postal workers could be back on the job as early as Tuesday.
“Legislation is a step we did not take lightly,” Trudeau told parliament. “For nearly a year, we have been supporting and encouraging both sides to reach a negotiated agreement.”
The strikes affected hundreds of communities and led Canada Post in mid-November to ask the rest of the world to stop sending in mail until it had cleared a backlog.
At issue is a massive uptick in e-commerce that has been a boon to the economy but also led to a spike in workplace injuries at Canada Post due to higher parcel volumes.
Canada Post delivers two thirds of the nation’s online shopping and the last six weeks of the year are its busiest due to the holiday rush.