News / DHL Express facilities in Canada forced to shut down by strike

DHL Express’s Canada operations have been thrown into chaos after the company’s failure to land an agreement with the union representing more than 2,100 employees led to it locking out those workers.

That action in turn prompted a series of walkouts at DHL facilities across the country.

While the company had initially said it would be able to sustain services through a series of contingency measures, that now appears not to be the case, with strikes having persisted for nigh on a fortnight.

DHL Express Canada told customers: “Due to ongoing labour actions in Canada and the implementation of new legislation that restricts DHL Express from deploying any contingency solutions, our shipping operations will be suspended, effective 20 June.

“As a result, we will have to cease the collection of shipments destined to or dispatched from Canada as of Tuesday 17 June at 9pm until further notice. Our other business units in Canada [eCommerce inbound, Global Forwarding and Supply Chain] are not impacted.”

Negotiations for the new collective bargaining agreement commenced last October, prior to the agreement expiring on 31 December, but there has been little to no movement, the Unifor union opposed to a number of DHL conditions.

In a statement, the union singled out concessions including a change to the driver pay system, which would see truckers being required to drive 100km to collect their freight, or to get to their routes without receiving any compensation.

The union added: “[DHL] has also rerouted pickups across the whole country while reducing pay for owner operators. Other concessions involve proposing language that will allow the company to refuse accommodation, lay off employees, and reduce drivers’ daily guarantee.

“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.”

The 8 June strike comes during a difficult time for North American haulage which, together with Germany and the UK, has been contending with a substantial decline in drivers entering the industry – many opposed to the long distances involved and being away from families.