Prepared for the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics May 30th to June 2nd, 2012, Brighton, U.K. <p></p>On June 2, 2011, following eight months of collective bargaining negotiations, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) initiated a series of rotating work stoppages conducted in various communities in Canada. On June 14, Canada Post Corporation (CPC) initiated a nation-wide lockout of 48,000 postal workers which completely stopped the delivery and processing of mail. Immediately following management’s implementation of the lockout, the Canadian government announced it would introduce back-to-work legislation. The government claimed that the labour disruption was causing major economic damage.
The National Work Measurement Committee (NWMC) meeting was attended by 2 members from every region, except for the Québec region. Brother Sylvain Lapointe, who is the regional grievance officer from Montréal as well as a negotiator for the urban collective agreement, was present for the entire meeting.
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On Thursday, CUPW rallied at Canada Post Headquarters in Ottawa. They were joined by allies in the labour and social justice movements. Standing in solidarity, they sent a strong message to the Crown Corporation:
We’re ready to continue negotiations, but we can’t bargain with ourselves. Where is Canada Post?
For almost two weeks, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has been on strike against Canada Post fighting for fair wages, safe working conditions, the right for all workers to retire with dignity, and the expansion of public postal services for all communities. But rather than make an effort to bargain good collective agreements that meet the needs of postal workers and the public, Canada Post has dug in its heels.
Canada Post’s latest information update of November 26 describing what is going on at the bargaining table is full of half-truths and outright deception.
First and foremost, CUPW left the meetings Tuesday since we cannot proceed without Canada Post’s negotiators. They had to go back to speak to the Executive Board of Canada Post for further direction.
Over the weekend, Canada Post informed the public and CUPW members, through the media, that CUPW Negotiators had spent Saturday at the bargaining table talking about cleaners working inside Canada Post facilities. This is an outright misrepresentation.
On November 22, Canada Post released its financial results for the 3rd quarter of 2024.
For the three months ending in September 2024, the Corporation reported a loss from operations of $313 million. Overall revenue was down $15 million compared to the same time last year, as growing revenue from Neighbourhood Mail and Transaction Mail were not enough to offset lower parcel volumes.
In several regions across the country, Canada Post has been calling CUPW members to lay them off. While some are saying it is temporary, we’ve heard stories that it may be more permanent. These types of phone calls are merely a scare tactic by Management. We urge members not to panic if you receive such a call. Instead, take note of what the management representative says and then request a record of employment and estimated date of return in order to allow you to apply for EI benefits.
On day 6 of our nationwide strike, we continued talks with the Employer with the help of the government-appointed mediators.
Discussions focused on the same issues as the day before.
In a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday night, Jean-Yves Duclos, the Minister responsible for Canada Post, who heads up the Department of Public Service and Procurement Canada, discussed our ongoing strike and the future of Canada Post with the CBC’s Power and Politics show host, Catherine Cullen. The Minister told Ms. Cullen that the service first mandate “will not change” and that includes “serving every Canadian where they live including northern and remote areas.” He also said that parcel delivery was increasing “at a very high speed” which is “good news” for Canada Post.