TORONTO, May 12, 2025 /CNW/ - Unifor members at DHL Express Canada locations across Canada voted 97% in favour of strike action on May 10.
"We will fully support our members as they stand strong and fight for a fair contract," said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
"This is yet another multinational corporation putting billions of dollars of profits first, while leaving its employees way behind."
The week-long strike vote began May 3. Unifor began bargaining with the employer in September 2024. The parties have spent over 25 days at the table bargaining.
Unifor's bargaining priorities focus on improving working conditions, securing fair wages, recognition and respect for workers. The employer has proposed concessions.
After months of the bargaining process, the union and the company remain far apart all almost all issues as the employer has refused to engage in monetary discussions at the table.
DHL Express Canada applied for conciliation, which puts each party in a legal strike or lockout position as of June 8, 2025.
"There is an unprecedented level of confrontation at DHL," said Unifor Quebec Director Daniel Cloutier.
"Our members are being pushed to the limit while the company reports record profits. The message is clear: the workers will not back down. In Quebec and across the country, we'll stand with them to demand respect and the working conditions they deserve."
Labour relations between DHL Unifor members and the company are at their lowest that the union has seen in over 20 years of bargaining with this employer.
Unifor has a long history of labour relations with DHL, but currently there are a record number of grievances about many important workplace concerns including providing safe accessible clean washrooms, providing seniority lists, re-route concerns, productivity, members accommodation issues and the many terminations.
"Prior to this the parties would sit down and resolve issues," said Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer Len Poirier.
"We are fighting a company who continues to make mass profits while slashing jobs of our DHL Express Canada members. Some things don't add up."
The employer has been aggressively reducing hourly workers from full-time to part-time in locations across the country.
Meanwhile, DHL's income for 2024 was 84 billion (euros), or $131.7 billion CDN.
The next round of national negotiations with DHL is scheduled to take place from June 1 to June 8, in Toronto.
Unifor represents over 2,000 DHL Express Canada workers at Locals 114 in British Columbia, 700 in Quebec, 755 in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 4005 in Nova Scotia, 4457 in Ontario and members in DHL Alberta.
One-third of the members work as owner-operators of trucks, one-third work in clerical, and the rest work in warehouse and as drivers.
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
SOURCE Unifor
For more information, please contact Unifor National Communications Representative Jenny Yuen at [email protected] or (416) 938-6157.
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