People across the country were stunned yesterday as their mail carriers arrived with a smile on their face with mail after reports of an impending strike. The strike actually involves technical workers and administrators, and not the actual postal clerks.
Spokesmen for Canada Post say that the strike should not affect mail delivery at all. John Caines of Canada Post tells The Globe and Mail that managers are trained in all aspects of the people they supervise and that there are protocols for staff to cross picket lines.
Can this be true? Can a strike from a major national service not affect its effectiveness? Share your thoughts below.
Canada Post workers strike over benefits
A union representing more than 2,000 workers at Canada Post hit the picket lines yesterday over benefits, sparking labour predictions that the mail system would “bog down” within days.
The workers, who are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, are not involved in mail delivery. But the union’s national president, John Gordon, said the strike will create a ripple effect that will be felt by the public.
Mr. Gordon predicted that other union members will hesitate to cross the PSAC pickets lines, and noted that some of the striking workers do crucial maintenance on mail-sorting machines.
“There’s machinery that needs to be maintained and these people run the line,” he said. “Anything goes wrong with them and they’ll stop.”
But Canada Post spokesman John Caines said managers have been trained to take care of the machinery and that unions have protocols for crossing each other’s picket lines. “There will be no effect on delivery,” he said, adding that PSAC has struck before without affecting mail delivery.
Pickets were up yesterday in Ottawa and at sites in Atlantic Canada, including Halifax, Antigonish and Sydney in Nova Scotia, Saint John and Fredericton in New Brunswick and St. John’s in Newfoundland.
The workers affected are primarily administrative and technical staff. They have not had a collective agreement since the end of August, and last month they voted 88 per cent for a strike mandate.
“The main issue is that the employer is trying to shove down the members’ throats a short-term disability plan,” Mr. Gordon said. “It’s just not acceptable.”
The union says the plan would pool family-related leave with sick leave, reducing the current 20 days to seven, and hand the policing of the system to insurance companies.
Mr. Caines said the plan is based on the best practices in the country.
“We believe it’s a very solid program and it’s one that the company is putting a lot of faith in,” he said.
Also under dispute are job security, vacation time and pay. The corporation is offering a 10.5-per-cent increase in wages over a four-year contract. The union is seeking 3 per cent annually for a three-year contract, which they say is “in line with other settlements that Canada Post has recently negotiated with other unions.”
Negotiations have broken off and both sides said yesterday afternoon that no new talks were scheduled.
Tags: Bargaining, canada post, Collective Agreement, PSAC, public service alliance of canada, short term disability, Strike, Union of Postal Communications Employees
December 11, 2008 at 2:07 am |
Montreal PSAC members make petition to force PSAC to let it’s members vote on the November 17th offer
50% of PSAC members in Montreal have signed a petition to try and increase pressure on leaders to let members vote on the final offer. Some say that the fact that there is a petition alone erodes support for the strike. Others say that if there was a vote, there would still be an 88% “no” vote, which should show CPC that members are united
http://solidaritycanada.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/montreal-psac-members-make-petition-to-force-psac-to-let-its-members-vote-on-the-november-17th-offer/