Negotiations Summary

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May 17, 2010 - 16:10

RSMC Negotiations 2009 / Bulletin

RSMC Negotiations Bulletin No. 20

As reported in previous bulletins the employer has spent much time and money trying to convince the RSMC membership that the proposals being made by the employer are beneficial to the membership and should be accepted by the Union’s Negotiating Committee. As the parties near the beginning of the interest arbitration process it is important that the membership understands why the Union’s Negotiating Committee has not reached an agreement with the employer concerning revisions and additions to the present collective agreement. This bulletin will attempt to provide such understanding by summarizing the positions held by both the Union and the employer at the time the Union applied for interest arbitration. The identification of the Union demands is identical to the order found in the August 2009 issue of Perspective.

Union Demands

General wage increase and additional increase for lower paid members	Rejected by employer.
Payment for all hours worked	Rejected by employer.
Job security and protections in surplus employee situations	Rejected by employer.
Prohibition against the contracting out of RSMC work	Rejected by employer.
Protections for members when technological changes are being introduced	Rejected by employer.
Restrictions on the conversion of delivery modes	Rejected by employer.
Implementation of a Route Measurement System	Rejected by employer.
Daily limits on number of householder sets and weight	Rejected by employer.
Appointment of observers during restructuring exercises	Rejected by employer.
Four (4) days of cumulative paid sick leave per year	Rejected by employer.
Long-term disability plan	Not sent to interest arbitration.
Consultation with Union when accommodation required	Rejected by employer.
Right of members to refuse unsafe work	Rejected by employer.
Inclusion of RSMC in drug plan applicable to all other unionized employees	Rejected by employer.
Four weeks of paid vacation leave after seven (7) years of continuous employment	Rejected by employer.
Funding for the Child Care Fund	Rejected by employer.
Supplementary payments for maternity and adoption allowance	Rejected by employer.
Isolated post allowances	Not sent to interest arbitration.
Increase in number of Relief Employees and number of installations covered by Relief Employees	Rejected by employer.
Increased benefits for Relief Employees	Rejected by employer.
Increased rights and benefits for Union representatives	Rejected by employer.
Increased representational rights for members	Rejected by employer.
Guaranteed access to non-public areas of postal installations	Rejected by employer.
Members to be entitled to paid court leave	Rejected by employer.
Update list of arbitrators	Rejected by employer.
Provide definitions of employees	Not sent to interest arbitration.
Fill vacant routes on basis of seniority, improve information about available routes, eliminate two year restriction	Rejected by employer.
Seniority to be used when routes bid following a sizeable restructure and in surplus situations	Rejected by employer.
Additional hours to be offered when use of Relief Employees or Replacement Workers does not allow sufficient coverage of uncovered routes	Rejected by employer.
Replacement Workers and Helpers to be given additional rights to fill vacant routes before the employer hires from outside the post office	Rejected by employer.
Implement a process to ensure that all financial cap monies are properly allocated	Rejected by employer.

Employer Demands

Wage increases based on “market realities” and additional increases for employees holding lower paying routes	The Union has rejected this proposal as it does not believe that wage increases should be based on the location that a member works and believes the percentage increase for lower paid routes proposed by the employer is too high.
Short Term Disability (STD) Plan (includes an increase in the number of yearly personal days)	The Union has rejected this proposal as it believes that the STD does not provide a sufficient benefit for the membership (see Union demand 10). The Union also believes that a possible increase in the number of personal days can be dealt with as a separate issue by the parties.
Corporate Team Incentive	The Union has rejected this proposal as the employer has not provided a rational explanation as to why such a productivity bonus should be taken from the financial cap – which is money already owed to RSMC members.
Drug Plan	The Union has rejected this proposal as it provides less benefits and requires higher premiums than the plan applicable to all other unionized employees at Canada Post.
Adding to the list of calculations in Appendix “A” and increasing some of the payable amounts	The Union has rejected this proposal as it believes that its demand for a Route Management System (demand 7) is a better way of addressing excessive workload problems.
Improved benefits in the Dental and Hearing & Vision Plans	The Union is in agreement with such improved benefits – however, the parties still have to discuss implementation dates for some of the benefits.
Yearly payment of $500.00 and an increase in the boot allowance payment to Relief Employees	The Union has rejected this proposal as it believes that its demands 19 & 20 will better enable the employer to hire, maintain and properly utilize Relief Employees.
Respect and civility	Not sent to interest arbitration by the employer.
Mandatory complaint stage	Not sent to interest arbitration by the employer.

An additional reason for the Union’s rejection of a large number of the employer proposals is that the employer has not provided the cost of any of the proposals it has made to the Union.

Membership Solidarity Important

It is clear why the employer is taking intransigent and unreasonable positions throughout the negotiation process, as its aim is to insure that the labour provided by RSMC members is less costly than the labour provided by employees covered by other collective agreements. What is less clear is why anyone else would reasonably believe that an employer offer that completely rejects the Union demands, proposes wages and benefits that are less than those received by other employees of Canada Post and does not seriously address the daily workplace problems being experienced by the RSMC membership would be a reasonable basis on which to conclude a collective agreement.

Throughout the upcoming interest arbitration process the membership must continue to show the employer that they are solidly behind their demands and their Negotiating Committee by participating in local activities and reading Union publications.

SHOP STEWARDS NEED TO BRING THIS INFORMATION TO THE ATTENTION OF THE MEMBERS DURING REGULAR WEEKLY SHOP FLOOR MEETINGS.

In solidarity,

Donald Lafleur
4th National Vice-President and Chief Negotiator

This document is available in Portable Document Format (PDF).
Please click here to download it.

Bulletin no.: 2008-2011/275

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Negotiations Summary

Union Demands

Employer Demands

Membership Solidarity Important

Related Documents

Related Links

Campaigns and Activities

Events Calendar