On Wednesday November 25, 2009, the Union filed a national policy grievance regarding Canada Post’s unilateral benefit changes (N00-07-00027).

Canada Post announced that new employees hired as of November 1  are expected to pay 100% of the premiums for post-retirement dental benefits, up from the current premium of 40%.

In the same announcement, Canada Post stated that new hires as of November 1 will no longer be reimbursed for the BC Provincial Medical Insurance Plan Premium (Medical Services Plan (MSP) of British Columbia) once they retire.

Respect?

We are constantly hearing that at Canada Post we have to treat each other with respect. But how respectful is it to make unilateral changes? In the past, any changes to benefits have been negotiated unless the parties came to an agreement to make changes during the life of the collective agreement. Canada Post and the Union have worked together to try to curtail costs and we were successful. The changes we made to the Urban Ops drug plan proved to be a success in controlling cost.

While these unilateral changes only affect a few, it is a clear message that Canada Post is coming after our benefit plans. The Union will strongly oppose any attempt by the employer to impose separate retiree benefits based on the date that an employee is hired. We all do similar work and we all contribute to the success of Canada Post Corporation. Any imposition of such a two-tiered benefit system is contrary to the basic principles of equal pay for work of equal value.