The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) accused Canada Post yesterday of hiding behind theback-to-work legislation introduced by the Canadian government this week in order to avoid
meaningful attempts to reach a negotiated agreement to end the current impasse.Denis Lemelin, CUPW national president and chief negotiator, said that there had been nonegotiation meetings held on Tuesday evening, although Canada Post (CPC) was supposed to arrange ameeting through the mediator and CUPW negotiators had waited until late in the night for the talks.And at a meeting arranged yesterday afternoon by CUPW, Lemelin said the union had made a proposalin an attempt to break through the deadlock. “As of 5pm, CPC has not yet responded,” he said. “Itappears they are content to hide behind the legislation that they so desperately lobbied for.”
Lemelin called for the legislation to be withdrawn “so that CPC will have to come out of theshadows and negotiate”. He added: “Throughout the day in Parliament, NDP MPs repeatedly attackedthe back-to-work legislation for being biased and unnecessary. They pointed out that final offerselection has been criticized by government reports as being the worst type of arbitration processas it reinforces a ‘winner-takes-all’ approach and does not lend itself to resolving problems.
“The legislation introduced by the Conservative government includes a mandate for thearbitrator that virtually guarantees he/she will choose the position of the employer. We continueto demand that the legislation be withdrawn so that CPC will have to come out of the shadows andnegotiate.”
Lemelin said that across the country, postal workers had been demonstrating, attendingrallies, lobbying MPs and walking picket lines, “expressing their determination to fight againstthe unjust legislation introduced by the Stephen Harper Conservative government”.
However, the majority of political commentators expect back-to-work-legislation aimed atending the Canada Post labour dispute to be forced through parliament tomorrow, before Canada’sHouse of Commons rises for its summer break.
Under the legislation, Canada Post would have to end its lockout and employees would berequired to perform their normal work routine. An arbitrator would be appointed by the federalgovernment, and both sides in the dispute would put forward their best proposal in the contractdispute on the table. The arbitrator would then choose one of the two positions – with nocompromise – and it would become the binding decision that both parties have to accept.
Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt indicated that the government was prepared to forciblycurtail debate so that the bill can be passed by Thursday, although she said she was hopeful thatCanada Post and the union could reach a deal between themselves before the law is passed. She hopedthat the bill would put pressure on one or both sides to do that.
Canada Post suspended its operations across the country last Tuesday, following 12 days ofrotating strikes by the postal union CUPW that generated heavy costs and damaged mail deliverynationwide. The Canadian postal operator explained that the accelerating decline in volumes andrevenues, combined with the inability to deliver mail in a timely and safe basis, had “left thecompany with no choice but to make this decision”.
