Vancouver Executive Says No to
Canada Post's Global Offer!
On February 2, 2007, Canada Post presented a global offer to the CUPW Negotiations team. Despite the controversy associated with the global offer, the CUPW National Executive Board nonetheless voted 8-7 to endorse it. As a consequence, a series of meetings will be scheduled throughout Canada in late March for the purpose of ratifying or rejecting the offer.
Like many other locals, the Vancouver Local has taken a very different view of the Corporation's offer. On February 13, 2007, the Vancouver Local Executive Committee voted unanimously to recommend rejection. We are recommending rejection because we feel that he global offer does not go far enough in terms of meeting the mandate of our members. To be clear, we will not be voting on whether we are to go on strike; we will be voting on the global offer as it currently stands. We simply want the Negotiations Committee to go back to the table and follow through on its mandate by addressing some of the inadequacies in the global offer.
To be fair, we acknowledge that the global offer contains a few improvements, but it also has some very serious deficiencies. A more detailed local perspective will follow shortly, but the following information is a very brief summary of several shortcomings in the global offer that we feel support our recommendation of rejection.
Corporate Team Incentive (CTI)
Just weeks ago, the National Union condemned the CTI as the "Employer's demand". At the present time, the National Union is promoting a global offer that contains the CTI. For the uninitiated, the CTI is a performance incentive plan, the terms of which are dictated solely by Canada Post. The incentive payment, if any, will be based on achieving certain goals. Unsurprisingly, those goals are tied to performance (see increased productivity) and "employee engagement". The CTI is a carrot being dangled to our membership as a means of squeezing water from stone without any guarantee of payment.
In our view, the CTI represents an insidious end run around the work measurement systems that Canada Post has been attacking for the last several years. Aside from the fact that the CUPW National Constitution proscribes the Union from endorsing productivity-based incentive plans, the CTI also excludes temporary employees. How could anyone in good conscience support a global offer that discriminates against temporary employees (who are likely the most abused segment of our membership)?
Householder dimensions increased by 29%!
The global offer contains language that allows Canada Post to increase the dimensions of unaddressed admail by up to 29% (9" by 12"). Our membership provided no such mandate! In Vancouver, oversized householders have contributed to our current overburdening problems. Although the Corporation's offer provides for a very small additional payment to be attached to the delivery of oversized mailings, it is less than the amounts that are payable each time the CUPW National Office agrees to enter into national agreements for the delivery of oversized items. Letter Carriers already carry enough weight on their backs. We cannot accept larger householder mailings.
No improvement to Group 1 Staffing!
Since the inclusion of Appendix P in the 2000 collective agreement, the Corporation has been obligated to maintain a minimum ratio of full-time employees. Appendix P marked a significant change to the manner in which temporary employees could be utilized in Group1 facilities. Under the new language, temporary employees could be used in a six (6) hour window without any further obligations other than the inclusion of those hours into the staffing ratio. Moreover, the use of temporary employees within that window no longer triggered extended hours and overtime.
Even at the time of its introduction, it was recognized that Appendix P had serious limitations in terms of maintaining a minimum ratio of full-time employees in any specific work area, section or post office. In Vancouver, the shortage of staffing has become acute, impacting on health, safety, and job rotation. Furthermore, Canada Post now routinely deletes vacant day shift positions, which has impacted on our seniority rights because of the additional difficulties that have been created during annual shift bids.
To deal with those concerns, our Group 1 members provided a mandate. Our Group 1 members wanted teeth put into the existing language. Our members wanted language that would compel Canada Post to maintain an adequate level of full-time staffing in work locations where part-time and temporary employees frequently outnumber full-time employees. Rather than negotiate such language, the Union succeeded only in obtaining the right to engage in consultation. We say that the Union already has that right.
Householder time values inadequate
Many Letter Carriers in Vancouver are experiencing serious overburdening problems. In the past several years, we have lost jobs with every restructure. We have not lost jobs because of a decrease in mail volumes; we have lost jobs because Canada Post has exploited every possible loophole in our collective agreement. The Letter Carrier Work Measurement System (LCRMS) has been undermined and no longer ensures an equitable and safe workload.
During the last round of collective bargaining, our members were told that increased motorization would lead to improved health and safety. In reality, increased motorization has led to the increased use of off-site lunch facilities, which in turn has substantially increased the workload of our members, particularly for those who deliver on foot. Admail is another problem in itself. During the past several years, unaddressed admail volumes have skyrocketed, further contributing to the problem of overburdening. There can be no question that we need time values for unaddressed admail. However, the time values contained in the Corporation's global offer are inadequate and will not address our overburdening problems.
Postal workers suffer the highest rate of injury in the federal sector. Unless we are able to make significant improvements to the LCRMS, it will only get worse. Can we go another four years without relief?
Structured MSC work given to part-time PO-4s
If accepted, the global offer will allow Canada Post to legitimately reassign structured MSC work to part-time postal clerks. In Vancouver, grievances were filed after Canada Post recently assigned part-time PO-4s to the task of unloading MSC vehicles. Since MSC schedules are based on a work measurement system, the erosion of structured MSC work will contribute to the reduction of MSC jobs. Unless the membership votes not to accept the Corporation's offer, we will lose MSC jobs and there will be no language with which to effectively force Canada Post to create full-time PO-4 positions.
No improvement to Longevity Pay
During the last round of collective bargaining, there was much discussion on the issue of severance pay. While the Union conceded on the issue of severance pay, longevity pay was introduced to provide an additional payment to long-term employees whose tenure had met the qualifying period. At the time, it was felt that we could reduce the qualifying period in the next round of collective bargaining. To no surprise, that was precisely the mandate that was given to the Negotiations Committee during this round of collective bargaining. Unfortunately, that mandate seems to have been dropped at the negotiations table.
These are only a few of the concerns that have been raised with the Corporation's global offer. Ultimately, the membership will decide whether to accept the Corporation's offer when casting their votes. Until then, we believe that it is important that you consider our local perspective regarding the global offer. Four years is a very long time to live with our current staffing and overburdening problems. This will be our only opportunity to address the shortcomings in the Corporation's offer. Please think about your future and whether you can live with what is essentially a status quo contract.
Voting no to the global offer does not mean the same thing as voting yes to a strike! No one wants a strike, including Canada Post. We want the Negotiations team to return to the bargaining table and address the shortcomings in Canada Post's global offer. If there really is money for the CTI, then there is money for a real wage increase and/or the improvements that will help to ensure our health and safety in the future.
I hope that this bulletin has been informative. We will provide more detailed information from our local perspective very shortly.
If you have any questions regarding the Corporation's offer, please speak to your shop steward or feel free to contact any of our local officers.
In solidarity,
Ken Mooney
President
db/CUPE-3338
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