Canada-wide DHL Express strike ends with new four-year deal

More than 2,100 DHL Express Canada workers are set to return to work after the company and Canada’s largest private sector union hammered out a new four-year contract.

The tentative agreement, which includes a 15.75 per cent wage hike, pension increases for hourly workers and a new pension for owner-operators, was worked out Wednesday with Unifor announcing Saturday that its workers ratified the deal with 72 per cent support.

The DHL Express Canada employees, who work as truck drivers, couriers and in warehouse and clerical roles, were locked out at midnight on June 8 and went on strike hours later.

The two sides were at odds during the negotiations over the use of replacement staff as federal legislation banning the use of ‘scab’ workers took effect during the work stoppage.

“I am so proud of all the members of the national bargaining committee for standing strong and fighting for the respect they deserved,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.

“This is a historic dispute in our union’s books because we were the test case for the new anti-scab legislation and our union and members stood tall, held strong, and the end result is we got a fair collective agreement.”

The deal also sees increases to short and long-term disability payments, new mental health benefit, increases to severance, wage adjustments and new language around AI and robotics and improved work-from-home protocols.

Unifor offered no definite timeline for the return to work.