Employer-lead “focus group” in Winnipeg an oxymoron

Canada Post recently conducted a focus group with some of our Winnipeg members but it didn’t end up being terribly focused. They were looking for ways to focus our members on helping management update their address management process for new sequencing equipment. This is part of their Modern Post initiative. Canada Post doesn’t have the right to do this communications end-run around the union, but as they say, watch what you ask for.

Instead of giving the employer quick and dirty ways to update changes in addresses, union observers (attending on a without prejudice basis) said the seven members took more than two and a half hours to explain the reality of their routes to management. Members talked at length about householder headaches, forced overtime and unaccounted growth while the employer just wanted to hear about accurate address information.

 

Who chooses postal worker representatives?

An employer-lead focus group violates the exclusive rights and responsibilities of CUPW to represent members’ opinions and their suggestions about working conditions.

Arbitrators Dulude and Blouin have twice slapped Canada Post on the wrist for violating the collective agreement and the Canadian Labour Code which grants CUPW this exclusive role. We choose who speaks to the boss about our work, not the boss.

At national consultation we suggested a way to help CPC get more accurate addresses in a way that respects the union’s democratic and collective agreement structures and processes.  We would select union representatives to give information to the employer.

Of course, the union would canvas members’ opinions and involve our members in this process.

 

Fix our walks first

During and after the focus group, the union explained that most of the problems that were raised have been in the grievance process for years and need to be addressed.

The employer has to fix our walks before we help them fix the inevitable glitches attached to their new equipment.

 

QWL is QWL is QWL

 

The employer’s regional forums and focus groups are recent examples of Quality of Work Life (QWL)par excellence. QWL are management initiatives that try to convince workers that they benefit when the corporation benefits, so management, not the union, is in a better position to answer questions about who wins, who loses and who decides future work.

I encourage you to (re)watch the QWL video we sent out in early January and ask yourself the same questions. You might think differently about Canada Post’s regional forums and focus groups – you’ll probably say the “engagement” is off.