Canada Post Provides Some Details about New Vancouver Plant

Canada Post Provides Some Details about New Vancouver Plant

There has been a great deal of concern expressed by our members regarding the recent news from Canada Post about the new Postal Transformation (PT) plant at the Richmond airport. The Pacific Processing Centre (PPC) is slated to open in February 2014 with the Vancouver Parcel Delivery Centre (VPDC) moving in first, followed by the Vancouver Mail Processing Plant (VMPP) in March 2014.

The Corporation served the Union with an official notice on April 9th regarding the new plant. This notice details some of Canada Post’s plans for the new facility along with its projections for significant Group 1 staffing reductions. There has not been any consultation on this notice as yet; the first meeting is scheduled for April 18th. We will provide you with updates as they become available.

Please see the CUPW Pacific Region’s bulletin dated April 15, 2013 for more specific details about this notice; it has been distributed to Vancouver Local bulletin boards and Shop Stewards. The most current information can also be found here on the Vancouver Local website.

The Corporation has not provided any information yet regarding the PT impact on Group 2 workers or the garage at Glen Drive. Once the PPC is up and running the Corporation will be restructuring Letter Carrier depots and MSC schedules to reflect their mechanized vision of a modern post. The PT trend across the country has been for even more losses of assignments as well as a significant shift towards mobile Letter Carrier delivery.

The Corporation has made a lot of noise in the media over the past several years about how its PT plans would be achieved through attrition and that job security would be protected. This may well be the case but the unfortunate facts are that the PT experience throughout the country has resulted in serious stressors, both physical and psychological, being placed upon our members. Frequently the corporate spin justifies the negative effects of this transformation as being somehow the result of a resistance to change. The simple truth is that change of this magnitude, when poorly executed, results in harm to those that do the heavy-lifting; our members. It is our expectation that Canada Post will act in good faith, learn from its mistakes, respect the Collective Agreement and do all that is possible to mitigate the adverse effects that they are placing upon us with this major change in technology. On these grounds we will participate in this process.

Job security provisions – Article 53 and the promises made by Canada Post

Throughout the nationwide rollout of PT Canada Post has repeatedly announced to both our members and the public that we will have job security. They have stated that reduced staffing requirements occasioned by these technological changes would be achieved through the means of attrition. While retirements have certainly accelerated in recent months they may or may not be sufficient to account for all of the reductions. Even if they do not we still have contractual job security protection built into Article 53 of our current Collective Agreement.

If it is your desire to remain in Vancouver but you are concerned about being displaced by the staff reductions and are considering a transfer or a change from full-time to part-time please ensure that you fully understand the possible ramifications.  You may have noticed that the Corporation has been promoting transfers to other cities in the country. Be aware, that if you have been thinking about transferring to another Post Office on a temporary basis, you may experience significant delays trying to come back.

Unfortunately some of the “team leaders” that Canada Post’s recent Info Book Notice suggests you go to for answers to questions are giving out incorrect information. As an example, a VPDC superintendent was overheard last week telling some of our full-time members that they may have to go part-time; Article 53 clearly states that this is not the case.

A few key points from Article 53

Modern Post Committee

In August 2012 the Vancouver Local Executive Committee put forward a recommendation that was approved at a general membership meeting to form the Modern Post Committee. It was determined that this committee should be comprised of elected members from a broad spectrum of work areas. It should be emphasized that regardless of work area the members of this committee represent the interests of all members in the Vancouver Local.

The Vancouver Local’s Modern Post Committee is responsible for: gathering information from other parts of the country that have already experienced PT; participating in consultations with the employer; taking your questions; and communicating its findings to the general membership. Please watch for bulletins that will be coming out from the committee soon. Contact information and a list of the committee members with their work areas can be found below.

Please note: there are five vacant alternate positions on this committee that will be up for election at the next General Membership Meeting which is being held at 7 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013.

If you have concerns that you would like to bring to the committee’s attention please direct them to [email protected] . Telephone messages for the committee may also be left with our staff at the Union Hall.

It’s our turn

CUPW members across the country have been sharing experiences of the dire effects that PT has had upon them over the past few years. As Vancouver is the last major centre on the roll-out we will be able to learn from other Locals and make every effort to ease the impact upon our membership. These changes will have an effect upon each and every one of us. It is imperative that we work together as a united front in the face of what has become a focus on machines and efficiencies rather than people.

In Solidarity,

Kim Evans
President