With each side entrenched of their positions, Canada Put up administration is blaming its issues on supply employees leaving early. On the similar time, its union says the Crown company’s issues stem from its personal monetary administration.
Canada Put up bosses and the Canadian Union of Postal Staff (CUPW) squared off in a downtown Ottawa resort on Monday, the primary day of hearings on the industrial inquiry fee convened by the labour minister.
The fee is meant to look at Canada Put up’s monetary state of affairs, enterprise mannequin and office practices and produce a report in Could.
Canada Put up and CUPW are not any nearer to resolving a office dispute that led to a four-week strike through the busy vacation season. On Jan. 17, the union mentioned negotiations had damaged down as soon as once more.
Canada Put up at ‘critical juncture’
CUPW argued Monday about mismanagement inside the company and postal bosses who need to weaken the union’s energy.
For its half, Canada Put up’s company bosses complained about an rigid employees and regulatory framework stopping it from transitioning from a five-day letter service service to an on a regular basis parcel supply service.
“We’re at a critical juncture with Canada Post right now,” mentioned CEO Doug Ettinger. “We need to redevelop our operating model. It’s an old-fashioned, outdated operating model that in today’s hyper-competitive e-commerce market holds us back.”
Canada Put up union staff picketed late final 12 months after negotiations over a brand new contract broke down. (Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters)
The hearings started with Canada Put up’s senior management laying out the dire monetary state of affairs and staffing construction that stops it from pivoting.
Rindala El-Hage, Canada Put up’s chief monetary officer, outlined a bleak financial outlook. She projected a monetary loss in 2025 of $900 million, which is able to rise to virtually $1.7 billion in 2029. El-Hage harassed that’s over $6.9 billion cumulatively misplaced over 5 years.
She mentioned the company can be burning by way of money, and was anticipated to deplete its reserves someday this 12 months if it had not obtained an injection of greater than $1 billion from the federal authorities.
Staffing issues
Canada Put up vice-president Alexandre Brisson defined that the collective settlement prevents the company from reassigning letter carriers who end their mail runs earlier than their eight-hour shift is over.
The inquiry’s commissioner, former College of Ottawa regulation professor William Kaplan, referred to as that lack of flexibility “puzzling.”
“How is it not a problem when somebody is paid for eight hours of work, and there’s more work that could be done, and the corporation could avoid paying overtime to someone else by having that person work for the eight hours for which they are paid?” Kaplan requested the union.
The union defined that in 2003, Canada Put up eliminated the requirement for letter carriers to take their lunch on the workplace in a bid to cut back time beyond regulation. It as an alternative allowed carriers to work by way of their lunch and go away early.
CUPW grievance officer Jim Gallant mentioned staff underneath the present mannequin are incentivized to work quicker.
“When people are scheduled for eight hours, they work eight hours. And when you give them a carrot to say you can go home early, people run,” Gallant mentioned, including that altering this rule wouldn’t essentially make staff extra versatile.
Union blames monetary mismanagement
Through the union’s submission, CUPW President Jan Simpson referred to as the fee a “skewed” course of favouring Canada Put up. She mentioned the Crown company has extra sources, and tightly controls its monetary data.
“Despite our misgivings about this process, CUPW values any opportunity to discuss the public post office and the contributions of our members,” Simpson mentioned.
The union additionally accused Canada Put up’s senior management of economic mismanagement.
WATCH | Postage charges went up this month:
Mailing something with Canada Put up now prices extra
Mailing a letter with Canada Put up will now price $1.44 per stamp, and every thing else will price extra too. It’s a part of a value hike on all mail merchandise that the Crown company says will assist with rising operation prices.
“Our experience over the last decade and a half has taught us to be skeptical of Canada Post’s financial reporting,” Simpson mentioned, pointing to “inaccurate” previous projections that Simpson says the company is utilizing to “justify service cuts and demand concessions on the union bargaining.”
She mentioned Canada Put up additionally elected to maintain letter postage charges “exceptionally low” over time in comparison with different postal providers internationally whereas permitting a “significant rise” in non-capital prices, administration bills and the acquisition of mail-processing tools and fleet automobiles that always sit idle.
“Rather than addressing these critical issues and seeking solutions in a timely manner, Canada Post waited until the bargaining cycle to have a manufactured crisis,” Simpson mentioned.
“Canada Post is trying to use its financial struggles as a pretext to implement drastic service cutbacks and gut hard-fought for and long-standing collective agreements.”
The union has mentioned it issued separate calls for for its city mail carriers and its rural and suburban mail carriers, however made the next mixed calls for for each teams:
Wage will increase of 9 per cent, 4 per cent, three per cent and three per cent over 4 years.
A value-of-living allowance.
Ten medical days along with seven days of private go away.
A rise in short-term incapacity funds to 80 per cent of standard wages.
Improved rights for non permanent staff and on-call reduction staff.
Simpson mentioned Canada Put up has been pushing for a rewrite of the company’s collective settlement, two-tier pension programs, elevated monitoring of staff, decreased go away and different advantages and reducing time beyond regulation and beginning wages.
