Canada Post
Transcript: Canada Post Labor Dispute Lovepreet Kaur Gurinder Sharma Julia Jose Introduction Introduction Canada Post CUPW Dispute Canada Post Canada Post Canada Post Corporation , known more simply as Canada Post, is a Crown corporation which functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Canada Post provided service to more than 16 million addresses and delivered nearly 8.4 billion items in 2016 and consolidated revenue from operations reached $7.88 billion. Canada Post operates as a group of companies called The Canada Post Group. It employs approximately 64,000 full and part-time employees to deliver a full range of delivery, logistics and fulfillment services to customers CUPW The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW; is a public sector trade union representing postal workers including letter carriers, rural and suburban mail carriers, postal clerks, mail handlers and dispatchers, technicians, mechanics and electricians employed at Canada Post as well as private sector workers outside Canada Post. Currently comprising upwards of 50,000 members, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has historically been labeled as militant because of some of the actions undertaken since its inception in 1965 to help guarantee rights to all postal workers. CUPW Disputes Disputes Canada Post and the union representing some of its employees remain embroiled in a labor dispute during 2016. The Crown corporation has issued a 72-hour lockout notice to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). Underlying Issues Underlying issues New employees would belong to a defined contribution pension plan. Canada Post would pay a certain amount into each employee's retirement plan, but the amount they receive upon retirement would be dependent on how well the investments performed. The union wants the existing pension plan to remain as is for all its members and any future employees Pension plan disputes Pension plan dispute Canada Post's pension plan by the numbers Canada Post's pension plan by the numbers Canada Post's pension plan is sustainable and should be able to include future hires. The plan had $21.9 billion of assets as of Dec. 31, 2015, following a 7.3 per cent return for the year, according to the plan's 2015 report to members. It has about 90,000 members, including almost 33,500 retirees to whom it paid out $880 million in benefits in 2015. The plan has a $6.2 billion solvency deficit, which amounts to all the obligations Canada Post would have to pay out if the plan closed. Unequal pay between rural and urban mail carriers is probably the union's “biggest issue in this round of bargaining, Rural and urban mail carrier divide Rural and urban mail carrier divide The union is also demanding the return of door-to-door mail delivery, which started to be phased out last few years. Home Delivery Home delivery Lockout news Parties involved Parties involved These agreements are for a period of two years, rather than the typical four-year contracts negotiated in the past. The issues facing the Corporation, with declining mail volumes and a growing pension obligation, are complex. Third party involved is an arbitration has ended the debate between the Crown corporation and the Canadian Postmasters Assistants Association (CPAA). I think both sides has reached a good deal The final offer selection is a form of binding arbitration that compels both parties to be reasonable and realistic, as well as to prove what they say. In final offer selection, the arbitrator could select some of the proposals from CUPW and some from Canada Post, meaning each party would win some demands, lose others, and have others which may be adjusted. Negotiations Resolutions Resolutions There were several key changes under this new collective agreement, including a defined contribution pension plan identified for new employees represented by the CPAA. This defined contribution pension plan applies to all newer employees at Canada Post apart from those represented by CUPW, and exists for any management and exempt employees hired after January 2010. For those under the Public Service Alliance of Canada/Union of Postal Communications Employees (PSAC/UPCE), which represent administrative and technical employees, this change is applied to those hired after May 2014 More on CBA This new agreement with the CPAA will also see changes in entry-level wages, which Canada Post says have been kept in line with changes negotiated previously with other bargaining units. There is also an increase in employee contributions for post-retirement benefits, from 25 per cent to 50/50 cost sharing with the employer, The wages and benefits package includes modest wage increases and remains competitive while reducing future costs through changes for new employees.