Thursday February 7 2019
On February 6, 2019, after direction from Arbitrator MacPherson, Canada Post provided its position on the matters in dispute for the upcoming arbitration. Not only did Canada Post roll back from its position in November 2018, they did nothing to improve working conditions for RSMCs.
Issues in Dispute
Duration of Collective Agreement: CPC is proposing 4 year collective agreement expiring on December 31, 2021. This proposal is subject to revision if CPC feels that the arbitration process takes too long.
Wages: CPC is offering the following increases to the activity values: 1.8% – 2018, 1.8% – 2019, 1.9% – 2020 and 2.0% – 2021. These increases would be retroactive to January 1, 2018. This is less than what Canada Post offered in its November 14, 2018 Global Offer.
Cost of Living Allowance (COLA): CPC has offered partial protection against inflation for the last two years of the collective agreement.
STDP and Personal Days: Canada Post’s only proposal for the STDP is to change substance abuse to substance addiction. It offered nothing else to improve the STDP or Personal Days.
Pension Plan: CPC is proposing that the parties have discussions during the life of the CA on the sustainability of the pension plan in the short, medium and long-term.
Job Security: CPC is proposing limited job security for route holders who at the time they are made surplus, have a route over 12 RMS hours and at least 10 years of continuous service as a route holder and/or permanent relief employee. Surplus employees can be displaced within a 75 km radius.
Weekend Parcel Delivery: CPC maintains its position that parcel delivery on weekends will be paid at $2.00 per parcel plus drive time. This violates the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. In addition, parcels delivered on weekends will not be counted on the log sheets.
Long Way To Go
Obviously, Canada Post has not addressed the issues that are important to RSMCs. It is clear that Canada Post is not willing to address the issue of equality for RSMCs.
– Pay for all hours worked (including overtime on your own route)- Nothing
– Coverage of all absences – Nothing
– Real job security – Nothing
– Overtime for weekend work – Nothing
– Improvements to STDP and Personal Days – Nothing
– CPC to pay RSMCs who are injured at work (WCB) – Nothing
– Continuous service date for Post-Retirement Benefits – Nothing
