Canada Post is demanding many rollbacks in this round of bargaining. These rollbacks will have a direct impact on your health, your family and personal life, and your working conditions.
Here are some examples of what Canada Post is demanding and how they will affect you. They are in no particular order:
| CANADA POST’S DEMANDS |
HOW WILL IT AFFECT ME |
| Eliminate the one half hour paid lunch |
Eliminating the one half hour paid lunch means you will have to work longer and will have less time to spend with your family and friends. Letter carrier routes will be longer and the risk of injury for all workers will increase. Eliminating the half hour paid lunch means eliminating over 1,000 jobs. |
| As of the date of signing of the new collective agreement, have all workers in a defined contribution pension plan. |
Currently CUPW members are part of a defined benefit pension plan. Defined benefit pension plans are more secure than defined contribution pension plans. Defined benefit pension plans provide retirees with a decent retirement income, whereas defined contribution pension plans do not. This proposal means you will have a less secure retirement. The proposed change from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution pension plans also does absolutely nothing to address Canada Post’s pension solvency deficit. |
| Eliminate the provision for unlimited physiotherapy in our extended health plan and replace it with a $400 per year cap |
This will literally hurt CUPW members. At a time when postal transformation is causing more stress and injuries to our bodies, we need physiotherapy more than ever to prevent injuries, protect our bodies, and heal. This is a short sighted demand that will also hurt our ability to do our job. |
|
Increase the job security provisions for regular employees from 5 or more years of continuous service to 10 or more years of continuous service |
This will make many more workers more vulnerable and scared. If CPC gets their way and is able to cut jobs, this would put workers who have less than 10 years continuous service in a situation where they would have to choose leaving their family, friends, and community to keep a job. It will create more fear and tension on the work floor. This could be you or your co-workers. |
| Reduced vacation entitlements | Vacation is important to our health and our families. It gives us a chance to reconnect and recharge. Vacation leave is essential for us to be able to maintain our work life balance. A 2014 study found taking vacations led to higher productivity, stronger workplace morale, greater employee retention, and significant health benefits. |
| Charge significantly more for post-retirement benefits | Everyone deserves a secure retirement. But if the cost of extended health benefits goes up significantly, retirees will have to choose between getting prescriptions filled and eating. That is not right. |
| Eliminate the cost of living increases for those on Disability Insurance |
Your DI payments are based on what you were earning when you went off on DI. People on DI don’t get wage increases. They get increases based on the cost of living. People on Disability Insurance are sick and often in pain. They don’t deserve to be sick, in pain, and worried about their finances. Remember, it could take one accident or unfortunate health crisis for any of us to end up on DI. |
| Canada Post wants more part time inside workers and less full time inside workers | In this tough economic times, many of us need to work full time in order to have a place to live, enough food to eat, and have money to provide for a decent life. If Canada Post gets their way and is able to eliminate or weaken the provisions of Appendix P, full time work and full time pay will be sharply cut back. |
Canada Post’s rollbacks will make our working lives harder, put more stress on our personal lives, and will not help us recover from accidents or injuries.
These rollbacks will make our retirement less secure.
These rollbacks will cut jobs and threaten our job security.
Please say no to Canada Post’s rollbacks to protect yourself, your work-life balance, your retirement, your health, and your job.
Tell your supervisor that you don’t like these rollbacks and want a decent new collective agreement!!! During the negotiations period, Canada Post has supervisors and superintendents take the “temperature” of their work floor. By telling management that you don’t want and won’t accept these rollbacks, you are sending a loud message to Canada Post.
Please read CUPW bulletins, talk to your stewards, go to our website (www.cupw-vancouver.org) and come to meetings to keep up to date and be informed.
In Solidarity,
Heather Andrews
Secretary-Treasurer
ck/CUPE-3338