Postal
Workers Torn on Contract
Over
the next month, postal workers across Canada will vote
to accept or reject the contract their negotiated in late July
The tentative agreement with Canada Post includes an 8-year deal that finally acknowledges Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) as unionized workers. Until now, those 6,000 carriers have worked for paltry wages without benefits.
For its traditional membership, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) secured some gains, including 3 per cent wage hikes for each of the next four years. The union also fought back an onslaught of rollback demands. But CUPW did accept several key concessions — including the elimination of severance pay.
Local dissent
Some CUPW locals are now recommending that their members reject the tentative deal. Those locals include Toronto and Nova (representing all postal workers in Nova Scotia). There is broad consensus that the RSMC deal is a major accomplishment. But dissenting locals say that deal came at the expense of too many rollbacks for the traditional urban membership.
- CUPW Nova local says 'no', Socialist Worker, August 20, 2003
- The tentative agreement must be defeated, CUPW Toronto Local Executive
National defence
Meanwhile, CUPW's national executive is standing behind the tentative deal.
National President Deborah Bourque argues that making the RSMCs a priority in this negotiating round — even at some expense — extends CUPW's tradition of fighting for social justice: “Over the years, CUPW has consistently refused to let management exploit particular groups of workers.”
- A history of standing together, CUPW, August 27, 2003
- Financial perspective on the tentative agreement, CUPW, August 28, 2003
- Why this is 'contract for the future', CUPW, August 11, 2003
- More
on the negotiations and the agreement from CUPW
Source: Oneworld.ca
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Page last updated August 29, 2003