IN THE MATTER OF the Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Act, S.C. 2018, c.25 AND IN THE MATTER OF Arbitrations conducted pursuant to Section 11 thereof
Between : Canada Post Corporation (“CPC” or the “Employer”) and Canadian Union of Postal Workers (“CUPW” or the “Union”)
We continue to meet regularly with Canada Post to resolve more issues pertaining to the 2011 Lockout. CPC will issue another payment on October 2, 2019, Pay Period 20, to those affected members who have not been paid for their entitlement under Article 21 (special leaves) of the collective agreement. CPC will not be sending out a letter of notification with an explanation for these payments.
On January 24th we received confirmation from Arbitrator Elizabeth McPherson regarding the issues in dispute that will be argued at Arbitration.
Arbitrator McPherson was appointed by the Government on December 10th, 2018 to arbitrate the RSMC and Urban Collective Agreements as a result of the Back to Work Legislation that was imposed on November 26th, 2018.
The first two days of hearings, in front of Arbitrator MacPherson, are now complete. Much of the time was spent clarifying the “matters” that are still in dispute and will be argued during the arbitration. After hearing the submissions from the CUPW and Canada Post counsels, the arbitrator made her ruling on the matters that are in dispute.
The arbitration process, imposed on us in the back to work legislation, officially begins on Wednesday, January 16, 2019. Your negotiating committee and our legal counsel, along with Canada Post representatives, will meet with Arbitrator Elizabeth MacPherson to discuss the issues in dispute and the arbitration process.
The employer has an obligation under the Collective Agreement and the Canadian Human Rights Act to accommodate workers and this includes accommodation for family status. Unlike accommodation for physical restrictions, which is covered by Article 54 of the Urban Collective Agreement, there is no specific article covering family status. Like other matters requiring accommodation such as religion and gender, it is included in the prohibited grounds listed in Article 5.01 of the Collective Agreements.
You should have now received your payment from Canada Post for the partial settlement of National Policy grievances N00-10-00001/N00-07-00037. It has come to our attention that there were issues with some of the payments the members received and some members did not receive their compensation. If you believe you were not compensated correctly, please notify AccessHR at 1-877-807-9090, or by email at AccessHR@canadapost.ca.
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The Union has now heard back from Canada Post through the federal mediators. The Employer has proposed to return to the bargaining table Wednesday (May 28) to provide the Union with a response to our latest proposals.
Union negotiators and the National Executive Board spent the last few days, and nights, reviewing the Employer’s last offers and preparing responses to issues in the offers and issues important to the Union that the Employer failed to acknowledge.
Today, May 23, is the first day of a nationwide overtime ban. As of 12:01 a.m. today, members were called on to refuse to work more than eight hours a day and more than 40 hours a week. This is a legal strike action and all CUPW members must follow this direction.
The National Executive Board has called for a nationwide overtime ban effective May 23 at 12:00 am local time. That means members are being called on to refuse to work any more than eight hours in a day and refuse to work more than forty hours in a week.
Today, May 21, our negotiation committees received global offers from Canada Post for both the Urban Postal Operation (UPO) and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) bargaining units. The Negotiators are currently reviewing and analyzing the offers’ contents. We will provide a more in-depth analysis shortly, but here are some of the main elements of the offers below...
After walking away from the table for the third time, Canada Post will finally table their global offers today. Our negotiating committee is currently on the way to receive the proposals.
This year, CUPW is proud to celebrate the Pride season under the theme "Workers United Against Hate" proposed by the Canadian Labour Congress. As we face a shocking rise in anti-LGBTQ hate in Canada and around the world, this theme is more important than ever.
On Monday, May 19, CUPW issued a 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post. This action was not taken lightly, but it was done for several reasons.
The collective agreements for the Urban Postal Operations and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers bargaining units, which were extended by the Government in December 2024, are set to expire Friday, May 23 at midnight.
Commissioner Kaplan’s report of the Industrial Inquiry Commission skews heavily in favour of Canada Post’s positions and recommendations. We fundamentally disagree with the bulk of its recommendations and challenge some of the information on which it was based. We have also objected to the entire process, but we felt that we had to participate in order to give voice to postal workers. The report also outlines three possible steps forward after May 22. It is important to note that this is not a done deal. It is up to Minister Patty Hajdu to decide what to do with the report – if anything at all.
May 18 is Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Every year, on this day, we remember the Tamil people who have died since 1948 because of the genocide committed against the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state, including the massacre in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, in May 2009.