Staff reductions not service improvements the goal of the modern post.
On April 9, 2013, the employer served notice of technological change as per article 29.03(b) of the collective agreement. The notice refers to the new plant currently under construction on YVR land in Richmond and can be read in its entirety by clicking on the link on the left.
Article 29.03(b) states that the employer must provide the Union with a “detailed description of the project it intends to carry out, disclosing all foreseeable effects and repercussions on employees“. 29.04 describes the pertinent information that must be provided in the notice including “(c) the approximate number, type and location of employees likely to be affected by the change“.
Article 29.05 says that the Union will meet with the employer within the “next fifteen (15) calendar days to hold constructive and meaningful consultations in an effort to reach agreement on solutions to the problems arising from this change“.
The 29.03(b) notice says that there will be a loss of 247 full time PO4 positions, 63 full time PO5 positions and 1 full time PO2 with increases of only 130 part time PO4 and 7 part time PO5 positions. The notice also says there will 15 Technical Services positions added.
While those numbers look even worse than what was expected, we have to keep in mind that a 29.03(b) notice is the employer’s starting position as both parties enter into consultation. Canada Post has not been able to achieve their staff reduction goals in any of the locations that have already been through this process.
Also, although we made some major concessions by ratifying the new contract, there were no concessions made in the job security provisions that existed in the previous collective agreement. The protection provided by article 53 remains.