Mechanized Mail Processing Plants Targeted

On Wednesday, July 20, 2005, your National Union and a member of the Québec City Local Executive met with Canada Post to discuss the Article 29.03(a) notice and Intercom 05.070, entitled "Canada Post Plans to Assess Its Network of Mechanized Mail Processing Plants".

At this meeting the union posed a number of questions in order to seek clarification on Canada Post's intentions with respect to this announcement.

Canada Post was unable to provide any new information at this point.

The Union is seriously concerned about this recent announcement and we have put Canada post on notice that we expect to have our concerns dealt with.

Despite the fact that the national union met with Canada Post all day July 13 and 14, they neglected to mention this large-scale initiative to your National Union. Instead, they spoke directly to members in Québec city regarding drastic changes they are hoping to achieve in all major mechanized mail processing plants, starting with Québec city. We again reminded Canada Post that there is a collective agreement in effect that prevents them from bypassing the Union.

Rather than take the concerns of the union seriously, Canada Post is urging our members to enter a dialogue on national initiatives directly to the CPC's president's website. We reminded Canada Post that this is contrary to the processes established under the collective agreement.

Canada Post is rationalizing this large-scale initiative by claiming a "steady decline in lettermail volumes over recent years" and "gains in productivity" that have resulted in "freed up processing capacity in a number of postal plants". The union has demanded proof of these statements.

The union believes that this initiative could have a serious negative impact on all mechanized plants in the postal network. We will provide updates as information becomes available.

The Struggle Continues