As they wait for their next move from their national body, postal workers feel defeated and deflated.

Close to a dozen Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 848 members were walking outside the Vernon branch of Canada Post Monday morning, Dec. 16, as they have for the past 31 days on the picket line, waiting to hear if they are, indeed, going back to work tomorrow.

In a Canadian Press story, mail is said to begin moving again on Tuesday as Canada Post employees return to work for the first time in more than a month after the federal government pushed to end the stoppage.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the 55,000 picketing employees back to work within days if the tribunal determines a deal isn鈥檛 doable before the end of the year.

Canada Post said Sunday night that after two days of hearings over the weekend, an impasse was declared by the board.

It says union members have been ordered back to work under their existing contracts, which have been extended until May to allow the collective bargaining process to carry on.

CUPW Local 848 vice-president Christina Goldie took a moment out from the picket line to express unhappiness about the directive from the government and corporation. Goldie said as of 9:30 a.m. Monday, there had been no direction from their national board as to what the union's stance would be.

"We are disappointed. We feel defeated," said Goldie. "A lot of us feel the last month (of picketing) has been completely in vain, and to get nothing for it and have it kicked down the road to May, it's trampling our charter rights of our freedom to strike and bargain in good faith, which the corporation has never done."

Canada Post says it has agreed with the union to implement a five per cent wage increase, retroactive to the day after the collective agreements expired, and Goldie said there are also $1,000 loans to all full-time CUPW members, $500 loans to its part-time members, which must be paid back through deductions from the five per cent increase.

Goldie was hoping Monday morning that the union would take some kind of stand.

"We don't know what that could look like," she said. "It could be to defy the order, it could be work to rule, it could be a number of different things. If we don't do something, at this point in time it could very well be the end of Canada Post."

Canadian Press said business groups had been calling on the government to intervene as companies and individuals scrambled to find alternative modes of delivery with the holiday shopping season in full swing.

"There's always concern for fallout," said Goldie. "We know this strike has been incredibly hard on the public, hard on small businesses. We would just ask that they continue to please support us. The things our union and other unions fight for comes down to the public standard...Our fight is their fight."

Operations at Canada Post are set to resume at 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Picketers are slated to be on the local lines Monday until 4 p.m.