The union representing Canada Post workers says the Crown corporation has been laying off striking employees as the labour action by more than 55,000 workers approaches the two-week mark.
In a notice to members posted Monday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers called the layoffs a "scare tactic" and said it's looking into the situation.
Canada Post spokeswoman Lisa Liu confirmed the layoffs, saying they are temporary.
She said the organization has informed some employees that the collective agreements are no longer in effect and their conditions of employment have now changed, as per the CanadaLabour Code — referring to the section of the code that covers lockout notices.
"Our business has been significantly impacted leading up to and throughout this labour disruption. We have taken steps to adjust our operations," Liu said.
Neither the union nor Canada Post provided details on the extent of the layoffs.
Earlier in November, Canada Post issued a lockout notice but said it didn't intend to lock out employees, instead saying the notice would allow the company to make changes to its operations in order to respond to the effects of a strike.
Labour experts said the layoffs by Canada Post are an unusual move.
"Given that the workers aren't being paid while they're on strike, it's unclear why they're doing it," said labour and employment lawyer Deborah Hudson.
Hudson said the Canada Labour Code protects workers from being laid off because of their participation in a strike.
"If the temporary layoffs continue, they will for sure result in legal action by the union," she said, such as grievances or an unfair labour practice complaint.
In that case, Canada Post will have to prove that it laid off workers for another reason, she said.
On its face, Canada Post appears to be violating that section of the labour code, said David J. Doorey, a professor of labour and employment law at York University, in an email.
"Therefore, if CUPW challenges the layoffs, Canada Post will need strong evidence to persuade the labour board that the layoffs are entirely unrelated to the fact that the workers went on strike. It would be interesting to hear that argument," he said.
Liu said the strike has essentially shut down Canada Post's operations until further notice. The fact that the collective agreements are not currently in effect "enables Canada Post to adjust its operations based on its operational realities and business needs," she said.
Hudson said the organization could be doing the layoffs in anticipation of the end of the strike, when they may be expecting significantly lower volumes in the short term as other carriers have shouldered Black Friday deliveries.
"Maybe they're anticipating a drop of workload ahead of time," she said.
The question is, "Are they able to prove that that justifies these temporary layoffs or not?"
Striking workers have a legal right to return to their jobs when the strike ends, said Doorey, "unless those jobs no longer exist."
"It may be that a lack of work at that point results in some employees being laid-off, at least temporarily, but that is just hypothetical at this point," he said.
Canada Post has said it's missed out on delivering millions of parcels due to the strike.
A key issue in bargaining has been a push to expand parcel deliveries into the weekend, but the union and Canada Post are at odds over how to make it work.
Canada Post has been struggling to compete with other delivery providers and posted a $315-million loss before tax in its third quarter, and has pitched weekend deliveries as a way to boost revenue.
There's no end in sight for the strike as the federal labour minister said Wednesday that a mediator appointed by Ottawa was getting nowhere, with the sides too far apart on critical issues. The mediation talks were temporarily suspended — and the government doesn't plan to intervene.
Steven MacKinnon said he had summoned both sides to his office in Ottawa. However, he said a directive for binding arbitration is "not in the cards."
In a statement Thursday, spokesman Phil Rogers said CanadaPost is "considering its options to move negotiations forward with greater urgency and remains committed to negotiating new collective agreements."
Meanwhile, union president Jan Simpson said in a statement Wednesday that CUPW is fighting to protect good full-time jobs.
