On January 27, 2012 the Honourable Judge Luc Martineau of the Federal Court in Montreal, Quebec rendered his decision which overturns the Minister of Labour’s July 22nd appointment of the Honourable Coulter A. Osborne. In his decision he upheld the Union’s arguments on the necessary qualifications for a Final offer selection (FOS) arbitrator. He ruled that any of the proceedings or decisions that had transpired under arbitrator Osborne should be quashed on the grounds that the Minister of Labour has unreasonably exercised her discretionary power by ignoring the two essential qualifications required of the arbitrator. He agreed with the Union that any appointed arbitrator would have to be bilingual and have a degree of recognized expertise in labour relations.

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For Immediate Release OTTAWA January 27, 2012 – The union representing the majority of postal workers across the country has notched up another win in its battle against the Harper government’s back-to-work legislation of last summer. A federal court in Montreal has overturned Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt’s appointment of retired judge Coulter Osbourne to arbitrate the labour dispute and ordered Raitt to appoint a bilingual arbitrator with labour relations experience. Osbourne, a unilingual judge with no previous labour experience, resigned in November; had he not done so, this decision, handed down by Judge Martineau, would have cancelled his appointment.

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We have just received news that the Union has won our legal challenge that the arbitrator appointed to determine the final offer selection arbitration for the Urban Operations Unit must be experienced in labour relations matters and also must be bilingual. This is a major victory for the union. The decision of the Federal Court requires the government to appoint an arbitrator who will be able to properly evaluate the issues and work in both official languages.

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(Volume 10 • Number 1 • January 2012) A historic round of Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) negotiations is about to begin. This is CUPW’s first time going into RSMC negotiations with the right to strike. While much progress has been made since January 1, 2004 when this current agreement took effect, CUPW’s eventual goal is equality with the urban operations (UPO) bargaining unit. All three of the themes of this round of bargaining— fairness, respect, and progress—apply to our health and safety (H&S).

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OTTAWA – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers welcomes the resignation of Judge Coulter Osborne as final offer selection arbitrator. Judge Osborne was appointed by Labour Minister Lisa Raitt to arbitrate the contract between CUPW and Canada Post Corporation following the back-to-work legislation which ended the postal lock-out in June 2011.

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Dear Minister Raitt, Following the resignation of Judge Osborne, l am requesting a meeting with you at your earliest convenience to discuss how we should proceed with the process of determining a new collective agreement between CUPW and Canada Post Corporation.

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On October 20, 2011 the Federal Court of Canada ordered a stay of proceedings in the final offer interest arbitration for urban postal workers. Federal Court, Judge Luc Martineau, ordered Judge Coulter A. Osborne to stay the interest arbitration proceedings until the Federal Court has rendered its final decision on CUPW’s application for judicial review of Labour Minister Raitt’s appointment of Judge Osborne. CUPW is challenging the appointment of Judge Osborne on the basis that he has no experience in labour relations matters and that he is unilingual. The ruling states that Judge Osborne can take no action and make no decisions as final offer selection arbitrator until the case is decided by the Federal Court. The case is scheduled to be heard on January 24-25, 2012.

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OTTAWA – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has scored a significant victory in its fight against the Harper government’s treatment of postal workers. In a decision handed down October 20th in the Federal Court, Judge Luc Martineau ordered a stay of proceedings relating to the Harper government’s back-to-work legislation (Bill C-6) against thousands of locked-out postal workers in June. The arbitration will now stop until the union’s challenge of the government’s hand-picked arbitrator can be heard in January 2012. “This decision shows that the union is on the right track. We are questioning the process by which this government has forced its will on postal workers,” said Denis Lemelin, CUPW National President and chief negotiator.

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We have now received the ruling from Judge Osborne on the procedure to be followed by the parties as we proceed with the interest arbitration for the urban operations unit. The Union and the Employer disagreed on the interpretation of Bill C-6 concerning the requirement of the parties to submit their lists of the issues agreed to during bargaining and the issues in dispute. The union believes that the law requires the arbitrator to choose a date and then the parties submit their lists of what was agreed to and what was in dispute on that date. After the arbitrator determines the issues in dispute, the parties submit their final offer and the arbitrator must hear arguments and then select the final offer of either the union or the employer.

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How much of your tax money goes to pay postal workers? Zero. Not a dollar. Not a cent. And Canada Post has one of the lowest standard postage rates in the industrialized world. Sound good? The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Canada Post by looking at how we can make our post office even better.

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OTTAWA - The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced today it has launched its highly anticipated court challenge to the legislation used by the Conservative government to force postal workers back after they were locked out in June. The Conservatives’ heavy-handed use of back-to-work legislation has raised eyebrows across the country. Experts are saying that removing free collective bargaining and the right to strike from workers in the federal sector will be disastrous for the economy, poisoning labour relations for years to come. “Freedom of association is a fundamental right,” said Denis Lemelin, CUPW National President. “What other rights are they going to try to take from us if we let them get away with this one?”

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Media Advisory October 7, 2011 What: CUPW Day of Action marking Canada Post’s 30th year as a Crown Corporation with a mandate to improve public postal service and labour relations. When: Wednesday, October 12

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What: Media conference on CUPW’s challenge to the Conservative government’s back-to-work legislation (An Act to provide for the resumption and maintenance of postal services) When: Wednesday, October 12 at 10 am EDT

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