Saturday November 24 2018

Bill C-89 passed the House of Commons last night. Even though mediator-assisted negotiations are still going on, the Trudeau Liberal government chose to undercut our bargaining power and send us back to the same old unresolved problems in the workplace.

We condemn the legislation as a hypocritical act by a government that promised to defend workers’ rights, claimed to stand for equality for women, and claimed to stand for expanding and defending the middle class. It’s unacceptable for any government to violate workers’ Charter rights, especially one that said it would work to improve labour relations at Canada Post.

Shame on Trudeau and Hajdu, who promised better.

Gratitude for Supporters in the Opposition

We have to thank the NDP, who walked out in protest over the bill and the motion that stifled debate, and yet fought it until the end. The Bloc Québecois also voted against both. We, and the rest of the labour movement, will remember how they supported us at this critical time. Liberal MPs Robert Falcon-Ouellette, Wayne Long, MaryAnn Mihychuk, David de Burgh Graham, Arif Virani, and Stephen Fuhr also voted against the bill in the end.

The Conservative party, who legislated us back to work in 2011, showed very few of their faces in the House yesterday evening. The postal workers in the public gallery of the House distinctly felt their disrespect.

Impacts

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

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

All because of this undemocratically rushed back-to-work legislation.

Bill is Not Yet Law

The bill has not passed the Senate or been signed into law by the Governor-General. Its terms come into effect at noon (Eastern Time) on the day after that happens.

Our strike actions continue, including both the rotating strikes and the overtime ban, until further notice. Your Local can give you more information.

Looking at our Options

Even now that the bill has passed, your National Executive Board is exploring our options for resistance. Our strike has been effective and still we want to use whatever tactics we can to pressure Canada Post toward a negotiated settlement.

We will keep you informed!

In solidarity,

Mike Palecek
National President