Postal strikes are continuing across Canada, after the latest round of labour negations betweenCanada Post the postal union CUPW broke down. Canada Post said the negotiations stalled after both
parties rejected the latest proposals they made to each other.The Canadian postal operator stressed that the union rejected major compromises the companyhad made in its proposals to address sick-leave and staffing levels. “CUPW also refuses to discussany initiatives that will reduce costs and address the problems of declining mail volumes,increasing competition and electronic substitutions of traditional mail,” the company claimed.
Last week, the Canadian Labour Minister Lisa Raitt asked the Canadian Union of Postal Workersto suspend strike activity. The union replied that it would agree to the request only on thecondition that the terms of its collective agreement would be reinstated – something Canada Postrefused to do.
In response to this rejection, Denis Lemelin, CUPW national president and chief negotiator,said: “This behaviour on the part of Canada Post Corporation is totally unacceptable. We areshowing that we are willing to suspend our strike in good faith and with goodwill, as the Ministerrequested. Once again, Canada Post is rejecting any of our efforts to resolve the issues.”
After failing to reach an agreement with Canada Post, the union recommended continuedstrikes, with a 48-hour work stoppage in Red Deer, western Canada, over the weekend. Gord Fischer,CUPW’s national director for the Prairie region, explained. “In Red Deer, Canada Post’s refusal tostaff properly has led to a number of problems for both the postal workers and the public.
“We’ve seen letter carriers forced into overtime because there aren’t enough people to coverthe routes. We want to see more rotation of duties and better staffing to make sure Canada Postlives up to its obligations to the public without pushing its workers to unsafe limits,” he added.
Following the strike action in Red Deer, postal workers in Montreal and Toronto went out onrotating strike last night, bringing the total of those on strike to over 15,000 over a 24-hourperiod.
The union said Canada Post’s “punitive reduction of hours for its staff”, and limiting postalservice to three days a week had effectively locked out its employees across the country, leadingto piles of undelivered mail. “In response, locked-out workers are staging activities across thecountry, combined with the largest walkout yet in the 11-day strike,” the union added.
“Canada Post’s decision to refuse our offer to suspend our strike and lock us out hurtsthousands of people in Montreal,” said Jacques Valiquette, national director of the Metro-Montrealregion. “This provocation has motivated us to go out on the picket lines again.”
The most recent strikes in Toronto, Montreal and Red Deer follow work stoppages in Quebec,Kitchener, Calgary, Edmonton Victoria, Montreal, Hamilton and Winnipeg, where the first legalstrike in more than 13 years started on 3 June after last-minute talks failed to settle thedispute.
Canada Post claimed it had made every effort to protect the pay, pensions and job security ofexisting employees. Responding to the rotating strikes by the CUPW, the company said: “The rotatingstrikes have damaged Canada Post and clouded the company’s future. Volumes at Canada Post havefallen significantly since the union started rotating strikes on 3 June. This decline in volumescomes at a time when the company is already struggling to address significant businesschallenges.”
