On August 6, 2015, the Union requested an annual shift bid as per Article 13.26 of the Collective Agreement. Following numerous requests by the Union to consult with the employer, those consultations finally took place on November 25 & 27, 2015.
The proposals were sent to Union Representatives for review and discussion with the members on the floor. On November 23, 2015, the Union Representatives met with the Full-Time Officers to go over the proposals.
With their proposal, Canada Post provided a summary of changes. Some of these changes included:
- Adding, in total, one hundred (100) Part-Time and sixteen (16) Full-Time positions to the PPC
- Changing the casual hours of work on each shift to the following:
#103:00 – 08:00
#2 10:00 – 15:00 & 11:00 – 16:00
#3 18:00 – 23:00 - Adding a Part-Time crew to process the Victoria trailer
- Decrease in the complement of twenty-seven (27) Full-Time positions in VEO (while increasing by twenty-seven (27) Part-Time)
- Increase in the compliment of thirty-six (36) Full-Time positions in S/L manual (while decreasing by thirty (30) Part-time)
The fact that Canada Post has consulted with the Union does not mean that we agreed to all of their plans. At the consultations, the Union objected to the 03:00 start time for the PT members. That shift starts outside of transit hours and would make it difficult for our members to get to work. Our objections were noted and unfortunately no change was made. We will continue to fight this matter further.
The creation of one hundred (100) Part-Time and sixteen (16) Full-Time positions being implemented at the same time as the shift bid brought some problems. While some sections were increasing with positions, resources were being reallocated and this meant reductions in other sections. This would mean that some members would lose their position in a certain section and be subject to the back-fill process until they found a new home. This is problematic for those members that may need to maintain a specific shift for child care/elder care, school, etc.
A decision was made to conduct two (2) monthly bids prior to conducting the shift bid. This would allow the members who would likely end up without a position in a certain section to bid to try to maintain their shift. Those members that wanted to change sections would also have the opportunity to do so.
There will be four (4) bids:
1st – All new positions
2nd – Resulting vacancies minus the positions that will be deleted
3rd – Shift bid
4th – Staffing the new positions through the transfer list or promotion of temporary to Full-Time or Part-Time. They would then be eligible to bid on a January monthly bid to implement either shift bid or mid- February (depending on whether training is required)
There is no obligation for the members to bid in the first two (2) rounds of bidding. This is an opportunity for those who want to bid out of their section, or for those who are not going to have enough seniority to stay in their section/on their shift, to move.
The Union has always maintained that the creation of new permanent positions was necessary to allow the PPC to run properly. It is unfortunate that Canada Post waited so long to create the new positions, as we have known for some time that the PPC was grossly understaffed and has been since the day it opened. After the consultations, it was determined that there would be twenty-one (21) Full-Time positions created – an increase of five (5) from the original proposal.
If you have any questions about the shift bid, please see your shop steward.
In Solidarity,
Jennifer Savage
President
ck/CUPE-3338