DHL Express locks out workers across Canada, adding to parcel sector turmoil

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MONTREAL — A strike and lockout that kicked off at DHL Canada Express on Sunday will barely tap the brakes on its parcel delivery service, the company says, as the union accuses it of deploying replacement workers. 

The German-owned carrier said it has rolled out a “contingency plan” that allows it to keep serving its 50,000-plus customers, which range from retailer Lululemon to e-commerce giants Shein and Temu. 

“With the implementation of these proactive measures, we are pleased to confirm that we can sustain our operations throughout our Canadian network, and we do not anticipate significant disruptions to our service,” DHL spokeswoman Pamela Duque Rai said Sunday in an email. 

Unifor, which represents 2,100 DHL truck drivers, couriers, warehouse and call centre employees, denounced any steps to supplant unionized workers with temporary ones. 

The move remains technically legal, acknowledged union president Lana Payne, as legislation banning replacement workers will not fully take effect until June 20. 

“DHL sees this as a bit of a loophole and a time for them to put maximum pressure on our membership to concede,” she said in a phone interview. 

Payne also warned of a chill setting in at the bargaining table. 

“The relationship also worsens when you have an employer that thinks they can use replacement workers.” 

The company bused would-be temporary workers to a Hamilton, Ont., sorting facility for a tour last week and hinted in recent days it planned to take them on if a work stoppage unfolded, she claimed. 

DHL did not respond to questions about replacement hires. 

The work stoppage adds to the labour turmoil in the parcel market, as Canada Post remains at loggerheads with 55,000 workers amid strained contract talks and an overtime ban imposed by the Canadian union of Postal Workers last month. 

Canada is not the only place struggling with falling mail volumes — a key factor in the impasse between the two sides — and DHL is among those feeling the pinch. 

In March it announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs in Germany this year, marking the largest set of layoffs in its home market in decades. 

Back in Canada, DHL was “disappointed” it could not reach a deal, Duque Rai said. Its proposal includes a 15 per cent wage hike over five years as well as new premiums for transportation of dangerous goods, according to the company. 

Unifor said its bargaining priorities remain wages, working conditions and surveillance and automation in the workplace. 

It also pointed to DHL’s proposals to change the driver pay system it said could see some workers travelling up to 100 kilometres for pickups with no compensation, on top of rerouted pickups and reduced pay for “owner-operators” — independent contractors represented by Unifor alongside full-time employees. 

DHL’s spokesperson replied: “The proposed terms relating to the review of our routes and a revised compensation model for owner operators is designed to address changes to the economic viability and operational structure of the Canadian market and would continue to ensure that drivers operating for DHL Express receive highly competitive compensation.” 

The company poured coolant on the union’s warning that the work stoppage could disrupt next weekend’s Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, where DHL is responsible for transporting the turbocharged race cars. 

DHL’s F1 work is separate from its other operations in Canada, the company said.