In a letter dated February 17, 2014, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) wrote the following in response to our letter dated January 29th: “Canada Post has recently offered a meeting with all collective bargaining agents and with the Pension Advisory Council that will cover the topics of funding relief, financial projections for the Plan as a result of the relief, and Canada Post’s role as plan administrator.”
After weeks of phone calls, letters and meetings between CUPW, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and Canada Post, OSFI has agreed to lift the restrictions on payments of commuted values from the Canada Post Pension Plan. They have imposed new restrictions which will allow members to withdraw the commuted value of their pension, but force Canada Post to pay a deposit of 40% of each withdrawal into the Canada Post Pension Plan.
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.
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...
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.
Application deadline: June 30, 2025 - On the fifth anniversary of the passing of Sister Megan Whitfield, CUPW is honoured to offer the Megan Whitfield bursary, two financial awards to encourage aspiring trade union activists to continue the important work Sister Whitfield started before her life was cut short.
The Union has now heard back from Canada Post through the federal mediators. The Employer has proposed to return to the bargaining table Wednesday (May 28) to provide the Union with a response to our latest proposals.
Union negotiators and the National Executive Board spent the last few days, and nights, reviewing the Employer’s last offers and preparing responses to issues in the offers and issues important to the Union that the Employer failed to acknowledge.
Today, May 23, is the first day of a nationwide overtime ban. As of 12:01 a.m. today, members were called on to refuse to work more than eight hours a day and more than 40 hours a week. This is a legal strike action and all CUPW members must follow this direction.
The National Executive Board has called for a nationwide overtime ban effective May 23 at 12:00 am local time. That means members are being called on to refuse to work any more than eight hours in a day and refuse to work more than forty hours in a week.
Today, May 21, our negotiation committees received global offers from Canada Post for both the Urban Postal Operation (UPO) and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) bargaining units. The Negotiators are currently reviewing and analyzing the offers’ contents. We will provide a more in-depth analysis shortly, but here are some of the main elements of the offers below...
After walking away from the table for the third time, Canada Post will finally table their global offers today. Our negotiating committee is currently on the way to receive the proposals.
This year, CUPW is proud to celebrate the Pride season under the theme "Workers United Against Hate" proposed by the Canadian Labour Congress. As we face a shocking rise in anti-LGBTQ hate in Canada and around the world, this theme is more important than ever.
On Monday, May 19, CUPW issued a 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post. This action was not taken lightly, but it was done for several reasons.
The collective agreements for the Urban Postal Operations and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers bargaining units, which were extended by the Government in December 2024, are set to expire Friday, May 23 at midnight.
Commissioner Kaplan’s report of the Industrial Inquiry Commission skews heavily in favour of Canada Post’s positions and recommendations. We fundamentally disagree with the bulk of its recommendations and challenge some of the information on which it was based. We have also objected to the entire process, but we felt that we had to participate in order to give voice to postal workers. The report also outlines three possible steps forward after May 22. It is important to note that this is not a done deal. It is up to Minister Patty Hajdu to decide what to do with the report – if anything at all.