04) CUPW ENTERS TOUGH BARGAINING

PV Vancouver Bureau

Facing resistance by Canada Post management against a fair new contract, the 54,000 member Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) applied on Jan. 21 for conciliation. The request sets the stage for possible strike action by this spring.

     "We've taken this action because Canada Post has to move from its hardline position on demanding significant concessions from our members, even while it continues to post profits and spend money on technological changes," said Denis Lemelin, national president and chief negotiator for the union.

     Canada Post is seeking to replace sick leave with a short-term disability plan, and to impose a defined contribution pension plan for new hires rather than the current defined benefit plan. As the union says, this "two-tier" system could be forced on all employees in a future round of bargaining.

     Management also insists on new work methods that the union considers unsafe, based on huge problems and disruptions of mail service in Winnipeg, where they were first implemented.

     One element of this round of bargaining is the struggle to win equality for rural postal workers. Despite the Harper government's claim to speak for the interests of rural Canadians, these workers have lesser vacation times, sick leave, and maternity and adoption benefits than their counterparts in the urban system. They are required to pay 50% of drug plan premiums, when other Canada Post employees are only required to pay a 5% premium.

     CUPW held "days of action" rallies across the country in late January. A message from Denis Lemelin to union members stresses that "By sticking together we can negotiate a good collective agreement that provides equality, respect and the sharing of the benefits of new technology."

     In his New Year 2011 message, Lemelin pointed out that "the struggles we are waging now at Canada Post are part of a greater battle, i.e., one for the kind of life we want as a society in the future. Do we want a world of cheap labour that caters to the whims of large corporations and the governments who are in their pockets, or a world that is based on decent jobs and good services for all? For us at CUPW, the choice is clear. We want a world with a human face.

     "We've been saying since 2008 that we will not be made to pay for a financial and economic crisis that was caused by multinational corporations and their insatiable appetites for maximum profits. We are the ones who, as workers, produce the goods and services required for society as a whole. That needs to be recognized."

(The above article is from the Feb. 1-14, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)