Monday November 26 2018

CUPW Vows to Keep Fighting; All Options on the Table

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is exploring all options to fight the back-to-work legislation passed in the Senate this evening, which will send our members back to the same old unresolved problems in the workplace at the busiest time of the year.

“Postal workers are rightly dismayed and outraged,” says Mike Palecek, CUPW National President. “This law violates of our right to free collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Going back to work under the old collective agreements means that between now and the holidays:

  • At least 315 disabling injuries will happen to postal workers;
  • Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) will work roughly 250,000 hours without pay;
  • Urban postal workers will work thousands of hours of forced overtime;
  • RSMCs will continue to be treated, as Canada Post calls it, with “equity but not equality”.

Prior to this round of collective bargaining, the Trudeau Liberal government had claimed to be a champion for the labour movement, but through this legislation, it is clear that it has turned its back on postal workers.

“Postal workers will continue to defend our right to negotiate a settlement,” adds Palecek. “We know that an arbitrated contract will only prolong our problems with injuries, inequality, and overwork. If the Trudeau government thought that passing this legislation would end the dispute, they’ve made a mistake.”