The Canada Post Pension Plan has been notified by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) that the administrator may not transfer moneys out of the pension plan or purchase immediate or deferred life annuities without the prior consent of OSFI. OSFI is the independent regulator who oversees pension plans to ensure compliance with the Pension benefits Standards Act (PBSA) and its regulations.
On November 27, 2013 the Union was notified by Canada Post management that they are once again implementing a unilateral increase in pension contributions for employees. According to the notice the employee contribution rate will increase another 0.6 per cent of pensionable earnings. This is in addition to the 0.7 per cent increase that was unilaterally implemented by CPC effective July 1, 2013.
The time has come to ensure workers have more financial security when they retire. An expanded Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) would do just that. Small increases in contributions would effectively double CPP/QPP benefits upon retirement.
Canada Post management has informed the Union that it is “prepared to meet and review all possible scenarios to resolve the matters related to the financial health of the pension plan.” As you may recall, in my bulletin dated September 19, 2013, I mentioned that in early September, we met with Canada Post and we proposed to put in place a Working Committee to address the realities of the pension plan. We made this proposal because we believe that it is essential that postal workers are entitled to a secure pension during our retirement.
In recent months, there have been a lot of media reports and discussions about the future of Canada Post. The debates started again last April, with the publication of a Conference Board of Canada report on the future of Canada Post. The Corporation took advantage of the situation by launching an on-line public consultative process and having “private” talks with various stakeholders. Several right-wing groups, such as the Fraser Institute and the C.D. Howe Institute, made sure to comment, each time attacking the public postal service and the rights of postal workers. And each and every time, we responded with our own solution, i.e. the expansion of services, including financial and banking services.
Currently employees pay contributions that equal 40% of the cost of the Canada Post Pension Plan and the employer’s contributions amount to 60% of the cost. This 40-60 ratio was established in law when the Canada Post Pension Plan was created and Canada Post employees ceased to be part of the Federal Superannuation Plan. On May 29, 2013 Canada Post Corporation sent a letter to all employees stating that, effective July 1, 2013, the employee contribution rate for the Canada Post Pension Plan will rise by 0.7 per cent of pensionable earnings. It stated that further increases would occur in 2014 until the rate of contributions for employees would be 50%, the same as that for the Corporation.
It’s been a week since the federal budget was tabled and we are still aghast at the scope of the changes being proposed. This budget is a purely ideological and political one, ruled by the neoliberal obsession with what’s good for business. For the Harper government, the State must be stripped to a bare minimum and only provide basic services to the public. All barriers to trade and business must be removed, even at the expense of people’s health, the environment, culture and the less fortunate.
As employees of Canada Post, RSMCs now participate in the Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan (CPCPP). Canada Post contributes to the pension fund on your behalf and deducts your portion of the contributions from your paycheque. Canada Post also pays the employer portion of the Canada or Quebec P...
Bulletin no.: 2002-2005/175 Pension Advisory Council (PAC) The Pension Advisory Council's 7th meeting was held on January 8, 2004. The new chair of the Council is Louis O'Brien, who is involved in a number of aspects of the corporation but who is probably most familiar as the manager involved in...
Bulletin no. : 2002-2005/73 Who's Watching Over Your Pension? When the government set up the Canada Post Pension Plan, CUPW and other unions demanded the right to access information and have a voice in the administration of our pension plan. What we ended up with was a Pension Advisory Council th...
Support Postal Banking - Download and Sign the Petition
Canada needs a postal bank. Thousands of rural towns and villages in our country do not have a bank, but many of them have a post office that could provide financial services. As well, nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. A postal bank could be that alternative. Download and sign the petition urging the Government of Canada to instruct Canada Post to add postal banking, with a mandate for financial inclusion.
This round of bargaining is not just about wages or benefits; it’s about protecting the very future of our work. Group 1 workers need to know what’s at stake.
Management has made it clear they want to close corporate retail counters. Canada Post has publicly called for the end of the moratorium on the closure of post offices in rural areas so it can either close or franchise these post offices.
Today, July 16, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) announced that the government-imposed vote on Canada Post’s collective agreements will begin at 7:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on Monday, July 21, 2025, and will run until 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on Friday, August 1, 2025.
On Monday, July 14, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) issued its decision regarding the content of the offers that members will be voting on in the upcoming government-imposed ratification process. Once again, the CIRB has sided with Canada Post.
Immediately following the announcement of the vote results, CUPW will contact management and invite them to return to the bargaining table.
Both sides must make a commitment to stay at the table until we have an agreement.
During negotiations, CUPW will maintain our overtime ban but not take any additional actions such as a rotating or full-scale strike.
Canada Post has launched a massive communications campaign to sell CUPW members on its “best and final offers.” But remember, Canada Post is only highlighting what it wants you to see. The devil is in the details.
Taking a deeper dive into CPC’s offers and comparing its summaries to its proposed collective agreement language, you’ll find that not everything is quite how Management has made it out to be.
Deadline to apply: September 14, 2025 -
Labour College, the Canadian Labour Congress’ (CLC) flagship trade union leadership development program, is a unique learning opportunity for union leaders and active members to learn new skills and take on the challenges that face the labour movement. It provides university level courses on issues related to work and the rights of workers in Canada. It gives graduates the necessary tools to be effective leaders in their union, their labour council, and the wider labour movement for the benefit of all workers.
The RSMC and Urban Bargaining Committees have unanimously recommended that ALL members decisively reject Canada Post’s “final” offers.
At the National level, the National Executive Board is unanimous in its recommendation to reject the offers. The vast majority of your elected Union representatives from across the country also agree: the Employer’s May 28 offers do not meet our needs and must be rejected.
We have heard that some members are unhappy with the overtime ban strike activity, so we want to help clarify the situation. Your National Executive Board (NEB) decided on this action after hearing feedback about loss of income in the 2024 strike, other input, and debate about strategy. While every member does not work overtime, taking this action means every member will still receive their regular pay. The negotiations demands ratified by members include staffing of positions where overtime and temporary hours are extreme or abusive. This includes adding more permanent positions in Group 1 and properly building routes in Group 2.
Take one look at our collective agreements and you will see what we have gained by being united and supporting each other.
In the 1960s, male workers supported the struggle for equal pay for female workers in the same classification. We were successful in 1970.
It is with great disappointment that we received yesterday a “bottom-line” decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) dismissing the Unfair Labour Practice (ULP) that we filed on June 3rd, 2025. This “bottom-line” decision was issued by the CIRB given the upcoming votes and the CIRB will issue full reasons at a later date.