DHL Express will temporarily suspend services in Canada, having locked out workers when the two sides failed to reach an agreement by June 8.
The Unifor-represented workers then went on strike, later the same day.
The company said the suspension will take effect June 20 at 0:00 a.m. It has paused the collection of shipments destined to or dispatched from Canada as of June 17 at 9 p.m.
“The services of DHL’s other business units in Canada – DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain – as well as the inbound delivery of shipments for DHL eCommerce and Post & Parcel Germany are not impacted by this change,” the company said in a statement.
DHL Express is not able to use replacement workers due to recently passed Canadian legislation that takes effect June 20.
“DHL Express will continue to engage constructively and in good faith with Unifor over a new collective agreement that provides fair compensation to team members while ensuring a sustainable, long-term foundation for the company’s operations in Canada,” the company statement said. “DHL’s priority is to reactivate normal service to and from Canada as soon as possible. Further updates will be shared as soon as relevant information becomes available.”
For its part, Unifor said, “Some concessions the company is pushing include chang[ing] driver pay system, resulting in a loss of money, driving 100 km to get to their routes or pick up their freight with no compensation. Other concessions involve proposing language that will allow the company to refuse accommodation, laying off employees, and proposing reducing drivers’ daily guarantee. The company has also rerouted pickups across the whole country while reducing pay for owner-operators.
“The union’s bargaining priorities remain improving working conditions — including access to clean and secure washrooms — securing fair wages, addressing surveillance and automation issues and recognition and respect for workers.”
Unifor also wrote the federal government, accusing DHL of attempting to evade the federal anti-scab law.
“Let’s be clear — DHL is not the victim here. This company locked out its own workers, forcing members to respond with strike action, and now they want the government to override the collective bargaining rights of workers,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
“They chose confrontation. Now, instead of negotiating a fair agreement at the table, DHL is running to Ottawa to ask for special treatment to get around a law designed to protect workers and safeguard the integrity of collective bargaining. Unifor will stand firm, and we expect the federal government to do the same. No exemptions. No bending the rules.”
Quebec director Daniel Cloutier added: “DHL’s decision to lock us out has already disrupted operations—and they want the government and the public to believe that workers are at fault. The power to resume full service and support customers is entirely in DHL’s hands. This is a crisis of their making. The only place this dispute will be resolved is at the bargaining table.”
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