May 12th ~ Five Years of Ms. Greene

May 12th is the 5th anniversary of the appointment of Moya Greene as President and C.E.O. of the Canada Post Corporation.  Not since the days of the finger-pointing Don Landers of the eighties have we had a President of Canada Post with a zeal towards reducing costs at the expense of service.

As a workforce we need to show our collective strength in preparation for collective bargaining in the coming months.

Moya and her minions have been on tour regularly espousing their stories of doom and gloom, and how we have to keep tightening our belts.  It hurts though, enough is enough.  The top heavy management team would have us relinquish benefits to help pay for new machinery.  We need to let them know it is not going to happen, that we are seeking improvements for our working lives.

On May 12th let Canada Post know that we stand united. Together we can protect each other, and protect the future of our public postal service.

Victoria Will Lose 60 Positions

A Technological Change Notice (29.03 (a)) was issued by Canada Post on March 22, stating that it was the intention of Canada Post “…to review its national network including all mail processing plants with a view of optimizing its operations.”

The Union received an amended 29.03 (b) notice on April 20, 2010, which outlined the changes. Drastic cuts in positions will happen in Victoria, Kitchener, and Moncton. The “review of the network” means the loss of 156 positions.

In Victoria, the mail processing workforce will be reduced by 44%, from 136 workers down to 76, a heartless blow to the workers and their families, which will undoubtedly result in inadequate service for the communities of Vancouver Island.

There are Temporary workers who will be benched indefinitely, as the assignments they’ve been covering are deleted. The changes are set to be phased in beginning August 8, 2010, with the final slashing of positions taking place by October 3, 2010.

CPC is saying that they don’t anticipate surplussing employees, and would wait to see how things look in October. Working lives are left hanging in limbo, while Canada Post waits to see how many workers retire.

Bill C-9 (Part 15) ~ The Protest is Urgent

The government is attempting to push partial deregulation of Canada Post through Parliament as part of an omnibus budget bill called Bill C-9, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 4, 2010 and other measures.

Part 15 of this bill would, if passed, remove international letters from Canada Post’s exclusive privilege to handle letters.

This is the Conservative’s third attempt to pass legislation deregulating international letters.  One bill (C-14) died when the 2008 election was called.  Another (C-44) died when Parliament was prorogued in 2009.

It appears that the federal government has grown impatient with the democratic debate that accompanied earlier bills and is attempting to ram deregulation of international letters through Parliament by attaching it to a budgetary bill.  Budgetary matters are considered to be questions of confidence. An election is triggered if confidence questions are voted down by opposition parties.

Given the nature and size of the bill, members of Parliament will not likely have a full and proper debate on the impact of deregulating international letters.

Including partial postal deregulation in Bill C-9 is about as anti-democratic as it gets.

Why lettermail matters

Canada Post has an exclusive privilege to handle letters so that it is able to generate enough money to provide affordable postal service to everyone, no matter where they live in our huge country.

The corporation’s lettermail volumes declined for the first time in 2008.  It clearly needs international letters as a source of revenue to maintain and improve universal public postal service.

Let your Member of Parliament know that the passage of this Bill would be destructive to our Public Post Office – STOP DEREGULATION!

Manulife Headaches

Fighting Manulife, the “disability managers,” is an ongoing hassle for many workers.  The results of the 2008 CUPW survey of Manulife showed that CUPW members are constantly harassed by agents who are representing Canada Post’s interests, not theirs.  Things have only become worse as Canada Post ramps up their attacks leading up to our upcoming round of collective bargaining.

The irony is that Manulife’s bully tactics are unproductive.  They have only created stress, prolonged illnesses, and longer recovery times for injuries.  These tactics are also intimidating and misleading workers who may not be clear about the rights they have to privacy and due process under the collective agreement.

You are entitled to obtain the information that Canada Post and Manulife is keeping on file about you, by submitting a Personal Information Request:  Privacy Act form.  This can be downloaded from the National website www.cupw.ca .

Retirement Security

Nothing is guaranteed when you retire. Leaving Canada Post to enjoy your retirement years, you still may be faced with changes to your benefits, or your pension. Be prepared to stand up for your rights during the coming months – before or after you retire.

Our contract expires in less than 9 months.

The Future is Unwritten.  Know Your Rights.

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Hey Harper – Hands off my post office! (Help stop Bill C 44.)  Part II

Bill C 44 was introduced by the Harper government last June.  This bill would have removed international mail from Canada Post’s exclusive privilege to handle letters.  Our jobs and relevance to the Canadian public both depend on the exclusive privilege and C 44 would have significantly weakened it. Bill C 44 died when the Conservatives prorogued Parliament.

The Conservatives are now trying to ram partial postal deregulation through Parliament by burying it in an omnibus budgetary bill!

What you can do:
Educate yourself.  Start with a visit to our National web site.  The actual bill can be found HERE.  A Google search will also help.
Contact Rob Merrifield, minister responsible for Canada Post, requesting that the government consult with the public on the Canadian Postal Service Charter.  (Contact info is available HERE, and remember you can mail him postage free.)
Download, print and sign CUPW’s letter, (available HERE), and mail it postage free to your member of parliment.  If you are not sure who your MP is, you can find out by clicking HERE and using your postal code.

Arbitrator Awards Letter Carrier $60,725.00

On February 22, 2010, an arbitrator awarded a New Westminster Letter Carrier $60,725.00 following a dispute involving her claim for lost wages. On June 23, 2008, the Grievor was discharged by Canada Post on the grounds of delay of mail, but that discharge was subsequently overturned by an arbitration award dated June 19, 2009. In that award, Arbitrator Joan Gordon substituted a five day suspension in place of discharge. As a result of that award, the Grievor was entitled to approximately one year of lost wages and benefits. Continue reading “Arbitrator Awards Letter Carrier $60,725.00”