Canada Post workers could be back on the job as early as Tuesday afternoon.
The Senate passed legislation Monday night, ordering an end to five weeks of rotating strikes.
Senators voted 53-25 in favour of the bill, with four abstentions, after two days of special sittings to debate the matter.
"I've been around 40 years so I pretty much thought that it would go this way but I really thought there was some good debate there and all-in-all we just have to move forward now and on to the next part with the arbitration and we'll go from there," says local Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) 630 President Phil Lyons.
He says he's not surprised and expects morale will be low as employees head back to work.
"There's going to be a major setback, it just seems like the company is rubbing it in our face one more time. They really don't have much respect for their workers — it's going to take a while, it's definitely going to set back relations for a while."
Lyons says the legislation undermines the collective bargaining
"There are all kinds of studies out there that show you're always better with a negotiated settlement but it was pretty obvious to CUP-W from the start that this was a bargaining strategy by Canada Post management, to just wait for legislation, they pretty much do it every time."
The government deemed passage of the bill to be urgent due to the economic impact of continued mail disruptions during the busy holiday season.
Canada Post last made an offer on November 14th — its 50,000 employees hit the picket lines October 22.
— With files from The Canadian Press