After two years of negotiations between the parties, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have reached tentative agreements for both the Urban and RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carrier) bargaining units.
After reaching agreements in principle in November 2025, the parties have now finalized and agreed to contractual language for new collective agreements. Subject to ratification by CUPW-represented employees, the agreements would be in effect until January 31, 2029.
The tentative agreements include higher wage increases and enhanced health benefits for employees. They also contain important enhancements for our customers, including weekend delivery services and operational adjustments that will increase network performance and introduce more flexibility into our services.
Key highlights
As part of the tentative agreements, the parties have agreed to:
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| Five-year agreements that expire on January 31, 2029 (Urban and RSMC).
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| Higher wage increases: 6.5% increase in year one (including the 5% already received), and 3.0% in year two. For years 3, 4 and 5, annual wage increases would match the annual inflation rate of the Consumer Price Index (Urban and RSMC).
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| No changes to employees’ Defined Benefit pension (Urban and RSMC).
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| An enhanced health benefits plan for employees and better income replacement for injury-on-duty leave and leave under the short-term disability program (Urban and RSMC).
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| 6 non-carry over personal days locked into the collective agreement, for a total of 13 personal days in the agreement (Urban and RSMC).
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| New operating model to support weekend parcel delivery (Urban and RSMC).
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| Maintaining the current job security provisions for Urban employees (Urban).
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| Enhancing the current job security provisions for RSMC employees (RSMC).
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| Adjusting the number of corporate post offices protected in the collective agreement to 393 (Urban).
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| Moving employees to an hourly rate of pay (RSMC).
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What this means
The five-year agreements will be in effect until January 31, 2029. Subject to a ratification vote by employees, these new agreements would position Canada Post to provide your business with three years of labour certainty.
This important milestone allows Canada Post to offer competitive services and strengthen its business plans over the short, medium and long term. Going forward, we are committed to providing consistent, reliable service for our customers by optimizing our national network and enabling ample capacity to support the growth of your business.
What’s next
The union will be managing a ratification vote for CUPW-represented employees. During the ratification process, the parties have agreed not to engage in any strike or lockout activity.
