Canada Post has presented two more major rollbacks at the bargaining table that would widen the gap of newer workers’ second-tier status, the rollbacks apply to both RSMC and Urban Units.
Canada saw the full might of Mother Nature last year, from floods, to fires, to storms, and thick smoke.
It was a year of extremes. Wildfires ripped through communities in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and Nova Scotia. Fires also burned for months in Quebec producing thick, noxious smoke that blanketed most of eastern North America. While the Prairies grappled with drought, Eastern Canada experienced record rainfall and deadly floods. This past winter was the warmest winter ever recorded in Canada by a huge margin.
As Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in a devastating number of civilian deaths, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are calling on the Canadian government to immediately suspend the trade of arms and military equipment with Israel.
Over the past few years, the cost of living has skyrocketed and inflation has hit 40-year highs. The price of our most basic needs – groceries, housing, fuel – have seen the biggest jumps. As workers struggle to live paycheque to paycheque, executives, banks and the rest of the 1% get richer.
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.
Since 2015 RSMCs, PREs and OCREs using a corporate vehicle have been receiving an annual payment to compensate for the time it takes to perform a daily vehicle safety inspection (circle check).
At the bargaining table, Canada Post has proposed major changes to our benefits package. The Corporation wants to convert our traditional group benefits plan into a “flexible benefits plan” with a Heath Spending Account (HSA).
The CUPW Child Care Fund is calling on CUPW locals to help spread the word about the new CUPW disability-supports.ca portal. We are asking locals to post the link to the disability portal on their websites.
Our Cost of Living Allowance will pay out once again, as it has several times during the renewal agreements, to help members deal with inflation.
Please note, the information below is subject to change should we win our National Grievance (N00-22-R0005). In dispute is the date of the base month for the calculations of COLA amounts owed. Canada Post Corporation has confirmed that it will pay the COLA payments as below, calculated in accordance with their position on the base month.
Our Cost of Living Allowance will take effect for the seventh consecutive quarter to help members deal with inflation.
Please note, the information below is subject to change should we win our National Grievance (N00-22-00005). In dispute is the date of the base month for the calculations of COLA amounts owed. Canada Post Corporation has confirmed that it will pay the COLA payments as below, calculated in accordance with their position on the base month.
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.
As you may be aware, on December 13th, 2024, Minister of labour McKinnon ordered under section 107 of the Canada Labour code for the CIRB to determine if the parties were “likely” to achieve a collective agreement by December 31st, 2024. If the CIRB was to answer negatively to the above question, they were to order the Corporation and its employees to resume and continue their operations and duties until May 22nd, 2025.
On Wednesday, January 15th, the first of three scheduled days of bargaining between CUPW and Canada Post took place with the intent of achieving negotiated collective agreements for both the Urban Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers units.
Canada Post deducted union dues on your December 31, 2024 pay, representing the dues from pay period # 27 (December 2024). Your January 16th pay will include dues owed for pay period # 1 (January 2025). These two pay periods represent dues at the 2023 rate of $90.61.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers becoming members of CUPW in 2004, CUPW published “Road to Equality”, a book about the courage, determination and solidarity of the Suburban Mail Carriers.
There has been an important development in our ongoing efforts to secure negotiated collective agreements for Urban and RSMC members. In addition to the work being done through the Inquiry Commission, a parallel three-day negotiation process will also be taking place on January 15, 16, and 17. William Kaplan, who was appointed by the Minister of Labour Steven MacKinnon to carry out the Commission, will be taking on the role of Mediator.
In our recent bulletins, we have talked a lot about sections 107 and 108 of the Canada Labour Code. These were the sections of the Code that the Government invoked to end our strike and force us to return to work last December. Unlike the back-to-work legislation we have been subject to in the past, the section 107 order was not debated or voted on in Parliament. The Liberal government made this decision alone.
The beginning of 2025 is marked by a period of extreme cold across the country. After a hectic autumn at Canada Post, and after having their right to strike denied by Minister MacKinnon in mid-December, postal workers were greeted back to work by milder weather during the holiday period. Mother Nature may have a few pleasant surprises in store for us during the winter of 2025, but we need to be prepared for the cold temperatures ahead and take all the necessary steps to work safely.
A new year has begun, and with it, the Union faces new challenges and new opportunities. The first five months of 2025 are shaping up to be particularly important. Public hearings for Commissioner William Kaplan’s Industrial Inquiry Commission are scheduled to begin January 27 and 28. While the hearings will take place in Ottawa, proceedings will be livestreamed for wider viewing. Mr. Kaplan is due to publish his final report on May 15.
Hello all, hope you are well,
We spoke with National Labour Relations this morning about reported violations of the collective agreement and here is where we stand for now...
The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordered postal workers to return to work December 17, 2024, in a clear violation of our Charter rights. We want to praise all postal workers across the country who made huge sacrifices, holding strong on picket lines for good jobs, fair wages, and a strong public post office.