Canada senate vote brings end to postal strike

OTTAWA: 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 the 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.