Friday December 13, 2024 | NATIONAL
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
This morning at 10 am Eastern (7 am Pacific) the Minister of Labour and Seniors, Steven MacKinnon, held a media availability to provide an update on the labour dispute between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and Canada Post.
MacKinnon said Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is sending the labour dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
“Canadians are rightly fed up,” he told media today. For many, that is an understatement that has come far too late for any success for parcel senders or delivery personnel this holiday season.
If ordered back:
If the Canada Industrial Relations Board determines that negotiations between the parties are at an impasse, MacKinnon says the board has been directed to order striking CUPW members back to work under the existing collective agreement until May 22, 2025.
“This is not a decision I take likely but in this situation it is the right one,” said MacKinnon in his news conference today.
Given where the two sides presently stand, it’s likely workers will be back on the job early next week.
Getting to this decision:
With both sides evidently not able to find any movement toward common ground in the strike scenario that began November 15, the federal step to break the impasse seems sensible in the interest of Canadian households and businesses and the economy overall.
Just a few days ago Canada Post said the latest CUPW offer takes ‘major steps back’ while Canada Post itself does not seem to be looking beyond the current paradigm of how and why the crown corporation operates.
Canada Post responded with a statement:
Canada Post issued a statement in response:
“Canada Post is currently reviewing the details of the Minister of Labour’s announcement this morning to ensure we are prepared to fully participate in the process and comply with the Minister’s directive.
“While that unfolds, we look forward to welcoming our employees back to work and serving Canadians and customers. We will take all appropriate steps to support that process as quickly as possible given the direction provided to us by the Minister.
“Our commitment has always been to reach negotiated agreements with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) that would help us better serve the changing needs of Canadians and provide good jobs to those who provide the service. We remain committed to doing so within this new process while also meeting the postal needs of Canadians.
“Details on our start-up plans will be made available at canadapost.ca when finalized.”
CUPW response:
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has about 55,000 workers (500 of those are in the Greater Victoria area).
“This plan is the plan from the beginning and where they wanted to get to,” said CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant in an interview on CTV’s PowerPlay today.
The union issued a response from CUPW President Jan Simpson titled Government Intervention Tramples On Workers’ Rights:
“This order continues a deeply troubling pattern in which successive federal governments have used back-to-work legislation or, in this case, its arbitrary powers to let employers off the hook from bargaining in good faith. What employer would move on anything when they know the government will bail them out? Once again, the government has chosen capital over workers by taking away our leverage to get a good deal.
“What We Know. This is a rapidly developing situation, and we have yet to receive the order. What we do know is that postal workers could be forced to return to work without new negotiated collective agreements in place. Once we receive the order, we will review it and consider every available option moving forward. We have been informed a Canada Industrial Relations Board hearing will be held shortly, possibly as early as this weekend.
“Where We Stand. We have been out on the streets for nearly a month, Canada Post has sat on our latest offer for five days with no response to us – so why this move by the government now? We are going to continue to fight hard to get good negotiated collective agreements for our 55,000 members. We will continue to fight for fair wages, safe working conditions and to retire with dignity. We have been pushing Canada Post for years to expand services to generate more revenue. We must stand strong in the face of this abuse of power. Please stay alert for more information in the coming days.
“This is far from over.”
===== RELATED:
- Latest CUPW offer takes major steps backwards says Canada Post (December 10, 2024)
- Canada Post issues a ‘framework’ hoping to reignite talks (December 1, 2024)
- Canada Post worker strike highlights corporate slack (November 30, 2024)
- Peninsula Co-op rebate cheques delayed by postal strike (November 24, 2024)
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