Thursday April 18 2019
Narrow-minded Corporate Plan excludes new revenue streams and service expansion
For Immediate Release
Ottawa – On April 16, 2019, Canada Post quietly tabled its Corporate Plan in Parliament and to no one’s surprise, at least not to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the forecast was more doom and gloom.
“Canada Post has a history of projecting losses and then outperforming their projections, while using those projections to cry poor to the public and at the bargaining table,” says Mike Palecek, CUPW National President. “This plan underscores the Corporation’s aversion to building a sustainable post office of the future.”
CUPW was excited when the Liberal government announced in 2018 that its vision for Canada Post called for reinvestments into service initiatives and innovation. For years, the Union has championed growing Canada Post’s revenue from expanded and new services like postal banking, senior check-ins and more services at postal counters.
Instead, Canada Post’s plan looks to cut services, which would put an extra strain on an already overburdened workforce, where serious injuries have increased by 39 percent over the last two years.
The language in this plan suggests that Canada Post sees its employees as financial burdens, suggesting that pension payments and pay equity account for most of its perceived financial woes.
“For decades, Canada Post was not complying with pay equity law and exploiting women workers,” says Palecek. “Finally, these women have justice and Canada Post is in no position to complain about finally following the law.”
CUPW addressed all these issues at the bargaining table, and even made some headway with Canada Post until back-to-work legislation halted that work. “It’s time for us to go back to the bargaining table, resolve our issues and invest in the future of our post office,” says Palecek.