Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hadju has told reporters she's ordering a vote in the Canada Post labour dispute.
Canada Post welcomes the news. It asked the federal government to intervene in late May.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board will administer the vote as soon as possible.
Canada Post presented the Canadian Union of Postal Workers with its last offer for those in the Urban, and Rural and Suburban bargaining units on May 28. It claims the union never got back to it, and the two parties remain at an impasse.
The two sides have been trying to reach a collective agreement for 18 months. Late last year, mail carriers spent 33 days on the picket line before the federal government forced them back to work and ordered the dispute to mediation.
"We welcome the Minister's decision as it will provide employees with the opportunity to have a voice and vote on a new collective agreement at a critical point in our history," said the Crown Corporation. "This ratification vote comes as the parties remain at an impasse after 18 months of negotiations, a national strike, and Industrial Inquiry Commission, which detailed the challenges we face."
Canada Post said a negotiated agreement has always been the preferred path to an agreement. The union wants to take the dispute to binding arbitration but said the mail carrier told it it saw no hope of agreeing on terms of reference.