Brothers and Sisters,
Over the last few weeks some of you may have noticed Canada Post Management soliciting members in regards to voluntary early starts for Mondays. There is no mention or language in the Collective Agreement that allows for this.
I implore you to reject these propositions with haste. Many of you are aware that, Canada Post offers “pre-shift” overtime on a consistent basis. Why now, and only now do they showcase this scheme? They would have us all believe they are doing this during the Holiday Season to alleviate the burden on Letter Carriers. Agreeing to this means you will be sorting mail during this time and not departing any earlier.
This leads to you delivering more mail than usual and not being compensated for overtime. Adhering to your scheduled start time is important and allows you to be eligible for overtime. Agreeing to start early only benefits the Corporation and if you happen to be delayed past your departure time you will likely work longer than (8) hours. Do not believe for a second that you are helping yourself or other members, this is merely a devious and cunning tactic on the part of Canada Post to process more product and reduce overtime.
Let’s face facts, this is purely a statistically driven corporation whose sole purpose is to disregard Health and Safety and cut jobs to produce profits. Having doubts? Just take a look around at the current rate of restructures planned in Vancouver this year and the upcoming year. Over 100 full time equivalent positions are slated to demolish and more will be under attack in the years to come. Plain and simple, they are removing jobs and with the addition of 30-60 minutes per route added after each restructure, it is absolutely clear that this Corporation has only one priority; the bottom line.
So next time you decide to start early and hurry through your route, stop for a moment and reflect on your actions and the repercussions which may occur as a result of them, even if you perceive your actions to be inconsequential.
In Solidarity,
Chris Zukowsky
1st Vice President
la/CUPE-3338