CUPW accuses Canada Post of lock-out; walks out of Toronto and Montreal

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Toronto and Montreal are named Tuesday’s targets of choice. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is walking out for 24 hours starting Monday evening at 11:30pm EDT. This means services in two of Canada’s largest cities will be shut down all day Tuesday, June 14, 2011. Note that Canada Post has already cut back service to three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so thiswalk-out will have no effect on the delivery schedule currently in place.

In the latest salvo from the union, Denis Lemelin, CUPW’s National President and Chief Negotiator, has labelled the reduction of postal service from five days a week to three days a week a “partial lockout” on the part of the Corporation, an attempt to force postal workers into a full-scale strike in order to secure back-to-work legislation from the majority Conservative government. In a communiqué dated June 13, the workers have stated:

“Canada Post is doing everything it can to provoke the union into a national walkout in the hope that the government will intervene,” said CUPW’s National President and Chief Negotiator Denis Lemelin.

Although CUPW offered to suspend its rotating strikes and go back to work, provided that the expired collective agreement is reinstated in order to protect members on the work floor, Canada Post management has refused. CUPW says its offer to call the strike off still stands.

“They are not interested in negotiating with us to end this strike. They want to force postal workers to take concessions,” said Lemelin. “To that end, they are suspending postal service across the country, even where no picket lines are up.”

Canada Post has counters and still seems to counter that reinstating the collective agreement is not progress. The Corporation stated its position on June 10:

At Canada Post, we believe the union’s strike activity should stop, but accepting their demand to revert back to the old collective agreement in order to make that happen is completely unacceptable. By maintaining the uncertainty for customers and hurting our revenues, the union’s proposal is tantamount to asking for full pay to remain on strike.  No company would accept that, especially with the damage already done to the business. We need flexibility to manage costs in response to the large drop in volume and corresponding revenues caused by the union’s activities. We also need to be able to end the uncertainty and achieve a new collective agreement that sets a course for the future.

Where is the stumbling block in these negotiations? CUPW’s communiqué dated June 13 goes on to say:

Since the rotating strikes began ten days ago, less than one third of the population has experienced any loss in service. The union points out that Canada Post’s reduction will amount to a far greater impact in just one day than anything the union has done so far.  “Despite mail piling up in its plants, Canada Post is unnecessarily reducing service across the country,” said Lemelin.  “They do not have to impact the service to get us to negotiate. We are at the bargaining table and willing to negotiate a settlement.” “There would be no stalemate at the bargaining table if Canada Post were prepared to negotiate.”

Where do we all go from here?

Click HERE to read more from William Belle

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