Canada Post union issues Friday strike notice [Video]

The union representing 55,000 Canada Post workers on Monday gave a strike notice that could see the nation’s financially precarious postal service shut down by the week’s end.

This would be its second labor disruption in six months.

The announcement comes after contract talks broke down and a government-appointed commission concluded last week that dramatic changes were required to save the “bankrupt” postal service.

Canada Post said it received the strike notice from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) indicating workers would walk off the job at 12 a.m. local time on Friday.

It warned that a strike would “deepen the company’s already serious financial situation” after recording more than Canadian $3 billion (US$2.2 billion) in losses since 2018 and requiring a Canadian $1 billion bailout at the start of this year.

The government in December had called “a time out” in a previous weeks-long strike ahead of the …