Category: Bulletins

Meetings with CPC President Chopra and Labour Minister Raitt

Today we had meetings with CPC President Chopra and Labour Minister Raitt. In the first meeting with CPC President Deepak Chopra and CPC Chief Negotiator Mark MacDonell, both parties reviewed their positions. CPC President Chopra discussed the financial situation of the Corporation much in line with a media statement CPC released immediately prior to the meeting.

We informed Mr. Chopra that the union remained strongly opposed to the short-term disability plan and to lower wages and benefits for new hires as proposed by management. We told CPC President Deepak Chopra that we had several very important demands concerning staffing and the work process of both internal and external workers.

Meeting With Raitt

We then met with Labour Minister Lisa Raitt. At this meeting we were joined by mediator Jacques Lessard and another government official. CPC President Deepak Chopra and CPC Chief Negotiator Mark MacDonell also both attended. At this meeting Ms. Raitt encouraged both parties to resume negotiations.

We reminded Ms Raitt that it is the responsibility of the Minister of Labour to honour and promote the legal rights of workers and unions, including the right to negotiate and to strike over unresolved issues if necessary. Ms. Raitt acknowledged the union’s rights and requested that the parties meet with her again in the near future to update her as to the progress of negotiations.

No Meetings Yet

As of 5:00 p.m. EDT, there are no meetings scheduled between the parties. To date CPC has not responded to any of the new positions advanced by the union in our final offer except to say no.

CPC Says “NO”

Today we met with the CPC bargaining committee to receive their response to our final offer. At the meeting, which lasted less than 10 minutes, the Employer stated that they were rejecting our offer in its entirety. Basically they said nothing more than what was contained in their press statement of yesterday. The only exception was that they acknowledged we had moved dramatically on some issues.

CPC Prefers Media Messages to Negotiations

Instead of negotiating with the Union, CPC issued a statement commenting on the importance of postal service to rural residents, seniors and small businesses. In their statement, they also say they are ‘offering employees better pay and benefits than they currently enjoy.’

They do not say:

• They are demanding an end to sick leave for all employees and the imposition of a short-term disability plan that provides inadequate coverage for short term illnesses and threatens medical privacy;

• They have been attempting to reduce service in rural areas;

• They have not responded to the Union’s proposals to extend door-to-door delivery service to seniors and persons with mobility restrictions;

• They have rejected all of our proposals to follow the example of other postal administrations and diversify into financial and banking services;

• They are demanding a starting wage, which is 22% less than the current starting rate.

CUPW Meets With Labour Minister Raitt

Today, we also met with the Federal Minister of Labour, Lisa Raitt. She suggested she would organize a meeting with CPC President Deepak Chopra for tomorrow. We agreed to the meeting. At the time of writing this alert, no time has been set for the meeting.

CUPW has closely reviewed the “revised final offer” submitted by the Corporation on May 24, 2011. We regret to say that this offer does not meet the needs and expectations of our members. On the contrary, the Corporation is still seeking a deterioration of our members’ working conditions as well as major rollbacks of important rights.

Given this situation, and after more than seven months of negotiations, CUPW has nevertheless decided to make a new and final effort to arrive at a negotiated agreement without a work disruption. We have reviewed all outstanding issues and are submitting to the Corporation the offer outlined below.

This is a global offer that can only be accepted as a whole. It is presented in an effort to reach a negotiated agreement.

If a collective agreement is not reached, CUPW reserves the right to return to its previous positions and will have no other choice but to exercise its right to strike.

All agreements in principle signed by the parties shall be maintained.

All provisions of the collective agreement that are not amended through these agreements in principle or through the proposals that follow shall be renewed status quo, except where concordance changes are necessary.

Regarding the issues specifically referred to below, CUPW proposes adopting the contractual language already provided to the Corporation, unless otherwise indicated.