Yesterday the CUPW RSMC National Negotiating Committee presented Canada Post with a Global Offer for Settlement. The Union’s offer is a comprehensive proposal which includes collective agreement language on all of the issues in dispute. Central to our proposal is the Union’s demand for full equality with the terms and conditions that exist in the collective agreement which covers Urban Operations employees including wages, benefits, rights and working conditions. Key Provisions in the Union’s Global Offer include...

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The Union welcomes the efforts the employer has made in its global offer to achieve a negotiated settlement of the collective agreement with the Union. Unfortunately, while the employer’s offer moves the parties closer to a negotiated settlement the Union believes that there have to be both modifications and additions made to the employer’s language proposals in order for the issues facing the parties to be resolved without the parties using their respective Canada Labour Code rights of lockout/strike. In general terms the Union has a number of concerns with the employer’s global offer: 1) It fails to adequately address the Union demands for pay equity, fairness and progress; 2) It fails to provide solutions to some of the work floor problems faced by the membership on a daily basis; 3) It fails to provide all the benefits currently enjoyed by all or a majority of the unionized employees at Canada Post; and; 4) When it does address the benefits enjoyed by all or a majority of the unionized employees it does so through language which differs, sometimes significantly, from the language found in the other collective agreements. With these general concerns in play the Union has either accepted the employer’s proposed language, revised it or added to it. In doing so it has followed the format found in the employer’s global offer. Similar to the employer’s global offer the Union’s proposed collective agreement language may be found in the tab that corresponds to the article number containing the issue addressed by the language.

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Sisters/Brothers: Negotiations are underway and there’s a lot of discussion and information right now in the social media regarding pay equity. I believe we need to provide you with an update on this important issue for the bargaining unit. I would first like to remind you that at the start of this first round of negotiations with the right to strike, we put forward the following theme. “Time for Fairness, Respect and Progress.” This means that fairness is central to our Program of Demands, which states: “The 2012 negotiations represent a historic opportunity to negotiate real parity between RSMCs and urban postal workers. For decades RSMCs have performed work which requires equivalent skill, effort and responsibility. Now, the time has come to obtain equal pay and the same benefits and working conditions as other postal workers. Now it’s time for fairness, respect and progress.” The Program of Demands adopted by RSMC members reflects the Union’s intent.

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2012 RSMC Negotiations - Fact Sheet 3 - CUPW is in bargaining for a new collective agreement for Rural and Suburban Mail Couriers (RSMCs) who work at Canada Post. About 70 percent of RSMCs are women. They do much the same work as letter carriers, who are mostly men, but as a rule, receive much less pay and inferior treatment. RSMCs want and deserve pay equity, as well as the same rights and benefits as letter carriers. They are determined to negotiate an end to pay inequality and other inequities in the current round of bargaining. This includes inequities between RSMC and urban workers, and within the RSMC bargaining unit.

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2012 RSMC Negotiations - Fact Sheet 2 - Prior to 2004, RSMCs had no rights and no benefits. Their working lives, wages, and futures were subject to the whim of Canada Post. Under section 13.5 of the Canada Post Corporation (CPC) Act, RSMCs were “contractors”who had no collective bargaining or other rights. RSMCs had to bid on their routes. They were often told to accept a contract for less money than before or else they would lose their route and their job. After they deducted their expenses from their earnings, many earned minimum wage or less. RSMCs got tired of their unfair treatment and waged a long battle to gain rights.

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Fantasy Bosses [Bosses] "Hmm, I really have to give my employees a raise. Can they afford to live on what I pay them? Why do I make one hundred times more than what my valuable staffers make? I ought to make sure those health and safety regulations are being enforced.

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Sue Wilson: Hi, we are the negotiators for the RSMCs. / Shelley Sillers: Canada Post doesn't place the same value on the work that a Rural and Suburban Mail Carrier performs. / Barbara McMillan: 70 per cent of all RSMCs are women, while almost 65 per cent of our urban counterparts are male. . .

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On March 7, 2012, CPC presented their first Global Offer. Here are the major elements of their proposal. Further information and analysis will be available in the near future...

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Under the provisions of clause 22.01, RSMC members are entitled to a defined benefit pension plan, whereby each member and the employer make contributions to the plan during the member’s employment and the member becomes entitled to a guaranteed entitlement when he or she retires from Canada Post. All unionized employees at Canada Post are presently covered by a defined benefit pension plan. The employer has notified us that it is proposing the introduction of a defined contribution pension plan into the RSMC agreement for new hires. Under a defined contribution pension plan, each member and the employer make defined contributions to the individual member’s plan, with the amount available upon retirement being dependent on the relative success of the investment strategy decided by the member. The Union indicated that it was not prepared to accept a defined contribution pension plan.

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At recent meetings between the Union and the employer, the parties made some progress towards achieving a new collective agreement. Permanent Relief Staff During a meeting on February 9, 2012, we got more information about the employer’s Relief Employee proposal. As mentioned in Bulletin # 6, the employer proposal is to use permanent relief employees in locations where the number of route holders would warrant one or more such permanent relief staff. Under the employer proposal, these permanent relief employees would primarily cover vacation leave absences and also cover all types of absences. They would be paid for a minimum of twelve (12) hours per week and be entitled to pension benefits, vacation leave, Corporate Team Incentive (CTI) payments, the drug, dental and hearing & vision plans, the short term disability plan and uniforms, if a uniform entitlement is agreed to by the parties for other RSMC members. The employer also provided a list of installations where such permanent relief staff would be employed. Our Negotiating Committee is studying the employer proposal and will respond at a future meeting.

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2012 RSMC Negotiations - Fact Sheet 1 - For decades, Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) have performed work that is much the same as urban postal workers, but they have not received the same compensation or treatment. RSMCs deliver the mail in rural and suburban areas. About 50 per cent of them work side by side with letter carriers and clerks. The rest work with rural postmasters. Approximately, 70 per cent of them are women.

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International Women’s Day (IWD) emerged from protests and demonstrations against poor working conditions at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. The United Nations formalized the annual event in 1977 by inviting countries to dedicate one day each year to celebrate the rights of women and international peace.

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The Union and the employer have recently had a number of meetings to discuss some of the proposals being made by the employer in the current round of negotiations. A brief explanation of the employer proposals, and the Union’s response, follows.

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Dear Mr. Lemelin: I am replying to your letter of December 15, 2011, to Mr. Deepak Chopra, President and Chief Executive Officer, which references the delivery of pension and other social assistance cheques and safety of live animals in the event of a possible work disruption involving Rural. and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) .

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