December 12th 2024
CANADA POST BARGAINING BREAKS DOWN WITH ANOTHER UNION
Collective Bargaining between Canada Post and the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association broke down today.
Union President Dwayne Jones stated: “This is extremely disappointing. CPAA came to the table to fix a number of issues that are necessary to ensure the survival of postal services in rural Canada. A Committee of Parliament just recognized that rural post offices are essential to their communities. It raised concerns that pay and funding for those post offices are inadequate. We have tried to get Canada Post to address those and other concerns. Since we haven’t been able to do that at the bargaining table, the parties are going to have to go to the next step. We have a duty to our members and the people of rural Canada to keep fighting.”
Issues in this round of bargaining include: wages, which have fallen well behind the rate of inflation; fair compensation for those employees who pay out of their own pockets to operate Canada Post’s offices; the Corporation’s refusal to return to a fair pension system, despite a substantial surplus in their pension plan; and job security, including assigning the meaningful amount of work that is currently being done in the post offices. This is in addition to items that should have been addressed years ago, like compensation when the Corporation asks a person to be fluent in an Indigenous language to do their job.
The next step is for the dispute to be decided by an arbitrator. The parties have an agreement that Canada Post will not lock out the union and the union will not go on strike. Because of this, CPAA members will continue to keep rural post offices open.
Further information can be found on the CPAA website https://cpaa-acmpa.ca
Report of Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/OGGO/report-22
OGGO – Postal Service in Canada’s Rural and Remote Communities
Contact: Dwayne Jones, President, CPAA 613-745-2095 dwaynejones@cpaa-acmpa.ca
November 22nd 2024
Some members have been asking why CPAA doesn’t post details of its bargaining proposals or the ones it gets from Canada Post.
Bargaining can seem secretive at times. But there are restrictions on what can be shared and reasons for those restrictions. CPAA, like many unions, delegates a subset of people to negotiate for the whole union. At the bargaining table, they will receive information that is confidential (for example, detailed financial information from the Corporation). That confidential information cannot be shared with the general membership. But it is shared with the negotiating committee, who are the delegates for the membership.
CPAA has also historically agreed with Canada Post before the start of bargaining about how much of what happens at the bargaining table can be made public, and under what circumstances. The reason for this is to promote frank and honest discussion between the two sides. Without these restrictions, it would be nearly impossible for the two sides to have the difficult discussions necessary to reach an agreement. Some unions decide to make their bargaining public. Most, including CPAA, don’t take that approach.
CPAA does its best to give updates without putting the bargaining process at risk or being accused by the Corporation of breaking the rules.
The Association’s Negotiating Committee is as committed as ever to bargaining the best collective agreement possible and it will do everything in its power to do so.
November 8th 2024
We are moving closer to the global offer stage of this round of negotiations. Both parties have put all of their individual demands on the table and, with a couple of exceptions, given their answers. Now, the parties will be moving to a neutral location and working to agree to a full package that could form the new Collective Agreement. As we do that, CPAA is keeping in mind the needs that members expressed in the thousands of submissions they delivered to the Negotiating team. The team is working hard to get the best possible agreement so that members are treated reasonably and fairly for the work they do for Canada Post and their communities.
There are bargaining dates scheduled in November and December. We will keep you posted as things develop.
Thank you
August 27th 2024
In January, the Association reminded members that we had served notice to the Canada Post Corporation (CPC) on November 10th, 2023, confirming that we wanted to start bargaining for a new Collective Agreement.
In February and March, the Association and Corporation had many meetings face-to-face. The Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA) negotiating team remained hopeful for a productive round of bargaining with over 50% of CPAA’s demands having been submitted. The Association reminded members that the current Collective Agreement remains in effect with all the rights and benefits.
In April, members were reminded that the negotiating team had continued to meet with the Corporation as they not only submitted demands for this round of negotiations but also had to advance issues from previous rounds. The team is doing a great job in ensuring that the members’ voices were heard. The Association continues to strive for a fair and equitable Collective Agreement.
In the Spring edition of the magazine, members were reminded that the expired Collective Agreement remains in effect with all the rights and benefits. As well, the policies and practices were also still in effect, so it should be business as usual. Any anomalies to this were asked to be brought forward to the Association right away so that a resolution could be sought.
During the Branch Convention times, from April to June, the negotiating team noted that they had been working over the past year in preparation for this round of negotiations. It was during this time period that the negotiating teams (CPAA and CPC) had met 16 times. The CPAA negotiating team had presented approximately 60% of the members’ demands. Which were in various stages. Some had been agreed to, others declined, and others still under review.
It was also during this time that the process was also referred to in the event that the negotiating parties could not come to an agreement. Article 60 was referenced to illustrate the process.
In August, the Association finished presenting all of its demands, with the exception of a few possible clean up items. The two sides are set to meet again face-to-face in September and October. CPAA is waiting on CPC to finalize their asks as we look to conclude a fair Collective Agreement that reflects the contributions CPAA members make to the strength of the Canadian postal service.