CPC negotiators presented what they portrayed as a “Global Offer” to the Union on March 15th. The “offer” contains few new proposals. It is mostly a collection of the demands for concessions they have previously tabled, with some new details.

Overall, this first “Global Offer” is an insult to the workers who have made Canada Post one of the world’s most successful postal services. It does nothing to address any of the major demands of the Union. In no way can this “offer” be considered as the basis for a negotiated settlement.

Management has a two-step strategy to lower the wages and benefits of all postal workers. The first step is to impose vastly inferior wages and benefits on all employees hired after the signing of the agreement. The second step is to come. In a few years, they will propose that all employees be treated equally by reducing the benefits of all remaining workers. 

Note: CPC provided contractual language for their offer and a 13 page summary which they posted on their website.  Many of the details of their offer were omitted from their summary. It is not only what they say, it is also what they fail to tell you.

Here are the major features of CPC’s offer.

Short Term Disability Plan: CPC is maintaining its demand to eliminate paid sick leave and replace it with a Short Term Disability Plan.

Wages and Cost of Living Allowance (COLA): A four year collective agreement. Current employees will have a 1.5% annual wage increase and the COLA will pay out only after inflation reaches 8%. For new hires in Groups 1 and 2 the starting rate will be $17.50 and it will take seven years to reach the maximum rate. The new lower wage rate will not apply to current temporary workers. Also proposed is a new lower wage rate for employees hired as vehicle mechanic apprentices.

PO5 to be reclassified as PO4s: All current PO5s will be reclassified as PO4s and red circled.

CTI: Increase the Corporate team Incentive from 3% to 3.5%

Human Rights Training: Expand the mandate of the human rights training and provide $2 million fund.

Isolated Post Allowances: CPC agrees to update the Isolated Post Allowances and include Fort McMurray with the same rate as High Prairie.

Job Security: Employees hired as of September 1, 2007 will have 40 km protection. Those hired after September 1, 2007 and prior to date of signing must have 5 years of continuous service. Employees hired after date of signing must have 10 years of continuous employment to get 40 km protection.

Benefits:

• All current employees will lose the paid wash-up periods;

• All current employees who do not receive 7 weeks of vacation leave will lose their entitlement to it;

• New hires will not receive a paid meal period until they have 10 years of continuous service as a regular employee, (10 minutes after 10 years, 20 minutes after 20 years and 30 minutes after 30 years);

• All new hires will receive 4 weeks vacation after 10 years of service, 5 weeks after 18 years and 6 weeks after 28 years.

Injury on Duty Pay: Reduce from 100% of pay to 75%.

Post Retirement Health Care: All employees who retire on or after January 1, 2012 will be required to pay 100% of premiums of the extended health care plan. They will receive a Health Care Spending Account from CPC.  The Health Care Spending Account will be a flat rate payment which will not increase during the life of the contract.  For 2012 it will be the equivalent of about 65% of the 2012 projected premiums. In future years the premiums will increase but the Health Care Spending Account will not. Currently retirees pay 25% of the premiums. 

Compensatory Time Off: CPC is agreeing to compensatory time for Group 1 but the provisions will place new restrictions on Group 2 (which will also apply to Group 1) to limit the carry over to five days per year and eliminate the right to be paid out upon request.

Unaddressed Admail: CPC wants to eliminate the householder time values for the 18 offices which have time values as of the first set. The per piece payment will be reduced from 2.3 to 2.2 cents and letter carriers will be required to deliver all householders within a three day span. CPC’s proposal amounts to an average increase of 1 minute per route (while eliminating the 10 minutes of wash-up period).

Birth and Adoption Leave: Increase from 1 to 2 days.

Pension: New hires to choose either a defined contribution pension or a defined benefit pension with 75% indexing and age 60 with 30 years of service as earliest date of retirement without penalty. An employee with less than 30 years of service will be required to work until age 65 to obtain a pension without a penalty.

Night Workers Leave: Reduction of access to night workers leave for Groups 1, 3 and 4. 

Interpreter for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees: CPC shall provide when an employee is requested to attend an interview, grievance hearing or an arbitration hearing.

Pregnant Employees: Provide pregnant employees with a process for accommodation if their working conditions endanger their health or that of their foetus.    

Bilingual Retail Positions: CPC will have the right to require employees to be bilingual. Retail bilingual clerk will be a separate classification.

Retail Retraining Program: The union and management will establish a sales training program for retail clerks.  If management determines that the sales are not high enough it will require employees wishing to become retail clerks to submit to an aptitude test. 

Part-time Employees at Retail Counters: The proportion of part-time employees at wickets will increase from 10% to 20% with no guarantees of extended services.

Group 1 Staffing: When a temporary employee works 1000 hours or more during a 12 month period in a cost centre, CPC will create a part-time regular position in that cost centre. When a part-time employee works at least 30 hours or more each week for 30 consecutive weeks in a cost centre CPC will create a full-time regular position in that cost centre.

Group 1 Ratio: In Appendix “P” CPC wants to reduce the full-time ratio from 78% to 72% (impact: loss of more than 1,000 full-time jobs). CPC will provide better information to the Union.

Appendix T: Job Creation: No new services or job creation. CPC commits to complete the mandatory projects negotiated in the 2007 collective agreement.

Grievance Arbitration: CPC is proposing a grievance backlog resolution process and a pilot project to deal with grievances on duty to accommodate, release for incapacity and discipline excluding dismissals.

No Loss of Seniority for Acting Supervisor: CPC wants a one-time opportunity to be an acting supervisor for 6 months without loss of seniority but with loss of assignment.

List of Arbitrators: CPC wants to remove two arbitrators from the list of arbitrators.

VHE Heavy Duty Truck Repair: No information provided to the union by CPC.

Contracting Out: CPC will maintain the current language.  They are saying no to all of CUPW’s demands for contracting in and provide greater protections from contracting out. Also CPC wants to create separate work centres for VES.

Vacation Leave Bidding; Group 2: CPC wants to restrict bidding to two rounds. This will take away the protections of past practices. If an employee moves to another installation within the post office that vacation leave will not be reposted.

Bar Charts: Bar charts will be calculated every three months and changes will be implemented within 30 days. All absences will be recorded except for relief employees, temporary employees, local and regional union leave and vacancies of positions that are not filled when it is expected there will be a loss of positions in an upcoming restructure.  

Group 2 Relief Employees To Work in all Groups: In post offices with less than 150 employees relief employees may be required to perform any available bargaining unit work.   

Access to GeoRoute: CPC will provide the Union with access to GeoRoute  to facilitate the validation of letter carrier routes.

Depot Support: CPC wants all depot support work, (now performed by Groups 1 and 2 employees) to be designated as Group 2 work and depot support employees will have the opportunity to replace absences of letter carriers on a voluntary basis.

Letter Carrier and MSC Work Measurement Systems: CPC wants the ability to impose an interim standard when there is no agreement between the parties.

Drivers Licence Abstract: Employees to be required to provide a drivers licence abstract on demand.

As you can see CPC has not submitted a serious offer for a settlement. It is obvious we will need a strong strike mandate to force management to negotiate a collective agreement that provides equality, respect and a share of the benefits of automation.