Bulletins
September 23, 2010
Canada Post recently notified the union of its plans to eliminate 560.5 full-time and 119
part-time positions in Winnipeg, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, Quebec-Randin, Saskatoon, Saint John, and Toronto. This brings the total of positions destroyed over
the next few years due to employer programs linked to modernization (ie. Postal Transformation, Process Consolidation and
the National Network Review) to about 1050 full-time and 200 part-time. And there are more cuts to come if Canada Post has its way.
.
July 9, 2010
The Senate’s Standing Committee on National Finance rejected four measures in the federal budget bill, including a clause that would partially deregulate Canada Post (Part 15 of C-9).
.
June 24, 2010
.
June 24, 2010
CUPW and the Union of Postal Communications
Employees – Public Service Alliance of Canada
(UPCE-PSAC) have joined forces on a campaign
to deal with an unparallelled assault on public
postal service and jobs.
Our objectives
1. Ensure Canada Post does not destroy hundreds
of temporary jobs and thousands of positions
in the course of reviewing and modernizing its
operations.
2. Stop the privatization of Canada Post Call
Centres and the National Philatelic Centre, as
well as the elimination of over 300 jobs.
3. Ensure our public post office shares the
benefits of postal modernization with the
public by preserving and improving public
postal service and jobs in communities across
the country.
.
June 11, 2010
The federal government is attempting to push partial deregulation of Canada Post through Parliament in Part 15 of its omnibus budget bill (Bill C-9). Bill C-9 has made it through the House of Commons and is now in the Senate. The Senate Standing Committee on National Finance begins its study of the budget bill on June 14th. The Committee will report to the Senate by July 31st.
A number of Senators have expressed concern about the size and nature of the budget bill. Bill C-9 is filled with a variety of measures that have not been properly examined or debated, including the provision to partially deregulate Canada Post. Progressive Conservative Senator Lowell Murray has made a motion to split the bill. This motion has not yet been discussed.
.
April 9, 2010
During the strategic review process, it was made clear that opposition to postal deregulation is widespread. The public is opposed. Many federal politicians and municipal representatives are opposed. Groups representing seniors, rural residents, people with disabilities, labour, students and civil society are also opposed to deregulation.
In spite of this, the government is trying to push partial deregulation of Canada Post through Parliament as part of its omnibus budget bill (Bill C-9) which includes deregulation of international letters. It is the Conservative’s third attempt to pass legislation deregulating international letters.
.
March 31, 2010
The government is attempting to push partial deregulation of Canada Post through Parliament as part of an omnibus budget bill called Bill C-9, An act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 4, 2010 and other measures.
Part 15 of this bill would, if passed, remove international letters from Canada Post's exclusive privilege to handle letters.
This is the Conservative’s third attempt to pass legislation deregulating international letters. One bill (C-14) died when the 2008 election was called. Another (C-44) died when Parliament was prorogued in 2009.
It appears that the federal government has grown impatient with the democratic debate that accompanied earlier bills and is attempting to ram deregulation of international letters through Parliament by attaching it to a budgetary bill. Budgetary matters are considered to be questions of confidence. An election is triggered if confidence questions are voted down by opposition parties.
.
October 28, 2009
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
As you may know, the government’s Strategic Review of Canada Post has recommended against deregulation.
During the strategic review process, it was made clear that opposition to postal deregulation is widespread. The public is opposed. Many federal politicians and municipal representatives are opposed. Groups representing seniors, rural residents, people with disabilities, labour, students and civil society oppose deregulation.
In spite of this, the government has introduced Bill C-44 which amounts to deregulation of international letters.
It doesn’t make sense to be proposing legislation before you look at an issue. This bill is now in the second reading stage.
.
September 17, 2009
On Saturday, September 12, 2009, the federal Conservatives quietly announced a Canadian Postal Service Charter which outlines the government’s expectations for Canada Post in regard to service standards and other matters.
The Charter largely reiterates existing policy and includes an expectation that Canada Post will maintain “the moratorium on the closure of rural post offices” (emphasis added).
.
June 25, 2009
The Conservative government has re introduced legislation which will amend the exclusive privilege of Canada Post Corporation and legalize the activities of remailers who have been illegally transporting letters from Canada to the USA for processing.
One Recommendation Out of Sixty
On May 7, 2009, representatives of CUPW met with Robert Merrifield, Minister Responsible for Canada Post. At that time, he told us that the government intended to take time to review the report and engage in consultations before it comments on the recommendations of the report of the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR). Instead he has acted unilaterally to introduce legislation to legalize the activities of the remailers. We have written to Minister Merrifield asking to know why the government has acted only on this one recommendation, out of sixty, which was never explained in the CPCSR report.
.
May 7, 2009
The Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR) Advisory Panel issued a comprehensive report that examines virtually all aspects of Canada’s postal service. It contains both positive and negative recommendations. Unfortunately much of the media coverage has been incorrect. Here is a summary of all of the recommendations.
All CPCSR recommendations are available at
http://www.cpcstrategicreview-examenstrategiquescp.gc.ca/FinalReport/rpt-eng.pdf
Deregulation denied
The Advisory Panel recommends that Canada Post maintain the exclusive privilege to deliver letters.
Universal Service Obligation
The report recommends the adoption of a detailed Universal Service Obligation (USO) which would be issued as a “Service Charter”. The Service Charter would be updated regularly (at least every five years) and would include standards concerning delivery, retail services, pricing and the reserved area to be covered by the exclusive privilege. The costs of the USO would be identified and covered primarily through services covered by the exclusive privilege.
.
May 5, 2009
Media stories on the report of the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR) have falsely suggested that the report calls for the dropping of door-to-door mail delivery. Nowhere in the report does the CPCSR advisory panel recommend massive cuts to this service.
Many media outlets have also paid little attention to the most important recommendation in the report, which is the recommendation not to deregulate our public post office.
So why the focus on the door-to-door issue? It is possible that Canada Post is attempting to distract the media from the more politically volatile threats to service in the report, which are the rural recommendations. The advisory panel recommends that the current moratorium on post office closures in rural and small towns be replaced with new rules and procedures, including the ability to replace public post offices with private outlets. Private outlets would weaken service and destroy some of the better paying jobs in rural communities.
.
May 1, 2009
The report of the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR) recommends the government not deregulate our public post office. The report, which was released on April 30, 2009, states: “There appears to be little public support for the privatization or deregulation of Canada Post, and considerable if not unanimous support for maintaining a quality, affordable universal service for all Canadians and communities.”
.
April 16, 2009
When the federal government launched the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR) a year ago, it promised to make the report of the CPCSR public.
The government received the CPCSR report in late December. It’s been almost four months now and the report has not yet been released to the public.
A previous government only took about two months to release the last report on Canada Post.
Four months is a very long time, even by normal standards.
CUPW has been told that Canada Post has the report. We do not believe it is reasonable to withhold the report one moment longer, especially if the corporation has it.
.
February 26, 2009
No one is saying when the report of the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR) will be made public.
A staff person for Rob Merrifield, the Minister Responsible for Canada Post, said he did not yet know when the report would be released. But he did indicate that the government will respond to parts of the report when it is made public.
The union will be checking with the Minister’s office regularly for updates.
Meeting with Minister Responsible!
The staff person at Merrifield’s office also indicated that the Minister is willing to meet with CUPW.
This is big news and a bit of a surprise. Lawrence Cannon, the former Minister responsible, refused to meet with the union. CUPW sent over a dozen letters requesting a meeting.
An official response to our first letter requesting a meeting with the new Minister is expected in the near future.
.
February 19, 2009
The recommendations made by CUPW and CPC management to the Post Office Strategic Review reflect very different visions of the future of our public post office. Soon we will see what vision the panel chooses.
Here are summaries of the recommendations made to the Strategic Review by both CUPW and CPC ...
.
January 29, 2009
The advisory panel of Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review has provided their report to the government. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has been attempting to determine how and when the report will be released to the public, however, very little information has been provided to the Union. Staff at the office of Rob Merrifield, the Minister responsible for Canada Post, has stated that the government is still studying the report.
It is important that all postal workers be informed on what recommendations the panel has put forward and how the government intends to respond the recommendations. As the Union obtains additional information, we will send out bulletins and post information on our website www.cupw-sttp.org.
.
January 29, 2009
The federal Conservatives and Canada Post Corporation (CPC) might call P3s “Public Private Partnerships”, but for working families, P3s are all about privatization.
P3’s are another way of contracting out public services. Instead of governments and Crown corporations (like Canada Post) providing public services, the private sector gets involved in financing, designing, building, operating, and owning public services, facilities and infrastructure.
The federal Conservatives, P3s and the global economic meltdown
The federal Conservatives recently filled the top positions at PPP Canada Inc., a Crown corporation tasked to speed up the privatization of public services.
Communities suffering from the fall-out of the global financial crisis and in urgent need of public infrastructure funds will suffer unnecessarily because P3s are plagued by secrecy, lack of public accountability, legal disputes and lengthy time delays.
.
January 8, 2009
On January 15, 2009, we are asking all CUPW members to wear a “Your Public Post Office delivers…for now” button or sticker.
The Canada Post Strategic Review Panel is Deliberating
We want to ensure that we send a strong message about the need for a universal public post office before the Federal Parliament resumes on January 26, 2009. In this time of political and economic turmoil, CUPW wants to make sure that our politicians know that maintaining a strong universal public postal system is necessary if we are to recover from this crisis.
.
December 2, 2008
We need to continue to put pressure on both the Government and Canada Post in order to preserve the
public’s right to universal public postal service and our members’ right to contract protections and
benefits, which may not be “flexible” enough in the mind of the gover...
.
November 13, 2008
On December 4, 2008, we are
asking all CUPW members to wear a ”Peace, Joy, and Public Post Office Stickers”. It is a good way to
say that we want to maintain the public postal service.
The Canada Post Strategic
.
November 7, 2008
As part of our fight back to warn Mr. Harper and his government to keep his hands off our publicly owned
post office, we are asking you for photos – post office photos.
Here is all you have to do:
Each Local takes photos of every post office the Local is responsible for. If...
.
November 6, 2008
The advisory panel of the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review will make a report with recommendations
to the federal government in December 2008.
The government has asked the review panel to answer a number of questions, including:
Which activities or services currently provided s...
.
October 23, 2008
But can we trust him after Bill C-14 and the Quebec City Plant Closure?
Minister Lawrence Cannon answ
.
October 21, 2008
On October 9, 2008, the First National Vice‑President, Gayle Bossenberry and National Director, Jeff
Callaghan, paid a visit to the Halifax Mail Processing Plant.
This was just one stop in an Atlantic tour to inform Members about the Strategic Review which is being
conducted by th...
.
October 17, 2008
The Corporation is showing an unmistakable lack of good faith. It’s flaunting the law and abusing its
right to discipline employees by attacking and punishing our members and union representatives for wearing a
button that says:
“Your PUBLIC postal service delivers … for...
.
October 14, 2008
On October 16, 2008, the election will be over and the composition of the federal government will have
been decided. The future of Canada Post, however, will still be up in the air.
The Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review Panel is still deliberating. They are considering
...
.
October 8, 2008
The most important issue currently being examined by the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review is
postal deregulation. Canada Post Corporation now has an “exclusive privilege” to handle letters in Canada.
This is crucial so that CPC can provide high quality postal services in all ...
.
October 2, 2008
The two billboards send a strong message to Lawrence Cannon who is the Minister responsible for Canada Post. They say: Mr. Cannon, Hands off my post office. Say no to postal deregulation. (In French : Monsieur Cannon, touchez pas au service postal! Non à la déréglementation...
.
September 11, 2008
If anyone wants to see the difference between CPC management and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers,
they need to look no further than their respective submissions to the Canada Post Corporation Strategic
Review.
CUPW: positive and service oriented
The Union’s b...
.
September 11, 2008
In response to the strategic review of Canada Post, CUPW asked members to make short YouTube videos
answering the question: “What does your post office mean to you?” With the video makers’ permission, CUPW
submitted these videos to the strategic review panel as a submission.
...
.
September 5, 2008
On September 2, 2008, national and local CUPW representatives hand-delivered a clear message to the
Strategic Review’s advisory panel – Our public post office
.
September 4, 2008
The results of a new Ipsos Reid
poll that CUPW commissioned show that 69 per cent of the public oppose allowing private companies to
deliver letters in Canada. This poll sends a strong message to politicians that the public will not tolerate
any attempts to deregulate or privatize Canada Post. ...
.
August 28, 2008
For a
few months now, CUPW has been campaigning to ensure that postal workers and the public understand what the
Canada P
.
August 21, 2008
“We don’t want Canada Post to be deregulated” This is the message that a number of community
groups, municipalities, and labour organizations are sending to the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review
Panel. Deregulation would raise prices, reduce service, destroy...
.
August 14, 2008
The federal government is conducting a review
of our public post office called the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR). The CPCSR is
considering deregulation of our univ
.
August 7, 2008
The federal government is conducting a review of our public post
office called the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR). The CPCSR is considering deregulation of
our universal public postal sys
.
July 31, 2008
The federal government is conducting a review
of our public post office called the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR). The CPCSR is
considering deregulation of o
.
July 24, 2008
Did you know?
1693: First paid mail delivery in Canada
1775: Official postal service starts its operations
1
.
July 24, 2008
The federal government is conducting a review of our
public post office called the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review (CPCSR). The CPCSR is considering
deregulation of our universal
.
July 18, 2008
Have your say on the future of the post office. CUPW is asking members, locals and the public to make
short YouTube videos answering the question: “What does your post office mean to you?”. This is part of the
union’s organizing around the strategic review of Canada Post.
...
.
July 18, 2008
Have your say on the future of the post office. CUPW is asking members, locals and the public to volunteer
to make short YouTube videos answering the question: “What does your post office mean to you?” This is part
of the union’s organizing around the strategic review of Canad...
.
July 17, 2008
The federal government
is conducting a review of our public post office called the Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review. The
government has given the review’s advisory panel a very broad mandate. It has ruled out privatization, but
not deregulation
.
July 10, 2008
The government’s strategic
review of Canada Post is considering deregulation of our universal public postal service.
Only a very few countries have fully deregulated their post of
.
June 26, 2008
Earli
.
May 15, 2008
On May 9, 2008 CUPW officers met with the members and staff of the Canada Post Strategic Review Committee.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Robert Campbell confirmed to us that the review will be examining the issue
of Canada Post’s exclusive privilege to deliver addressed lettermail. The ...
.
May 7, 2008
On May 1, 2008, CUPW representatives met with CPC management to discuss the plans for “The Modern
Post”. The Union explained to management that the union’s objectives are to improve and create jobs. We
believe that machines should be used to help workers, not replace them...
.
April 21, 2008
CUPW has been expecting the government to announce a review of Canada Post for a few years. Our
expectations increased in the last six months with the growing debate over rural mail delivery, Bill C-14
(partial deregulation) and Modern Post. The public and postal workers have raised many concerns ...
.
April 3, 2008
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 Mode...
.
March 27, 2008
The introduction of mechanized sequencing of letters, greater motorization and the introduction of new
mail processing equipment will completely transform the work of postal workers in Canada. The Union will have
to be very vigilant to ensure that these massive changes do not adversely impact on p...
.
March 7, 2008
We have just received written responses from Canada post to some of the union’s 76 questions concerning
the employer’s modernization program. Watch for another bulletin soon with a summary of those
responses. We also received some information at a consultation meeting last week...
.
March 6, 2008
CUPW is part way through a series of local forums and events which are designed to get members and the
public talking about what a truly modern public post office would look like.
The union’s forums have been organized to coincide with Canada Post’s regional forums on moderniza...
.
February 28, 2008
There is growing opposition to Canada Post management’s decision to close the Pointe- Saint-Charles post
office in Montreal. The Montreal-based citizen’s group Action-Gardien has been fighting the closure since
last October. Last week more than 130 demonstrators, including postal wor...
.
February 15, 2008
CUPW has submitted a national policy grievance
against Canada Post Corporation for failing to provide the union with the proper information on the
technological changes associated with its modernization program.
To date CPC has only provided the union with a very general notice under clause...
.
December 20, 2007
The federal government has proposed legislation (Bill C-14) that would, if passed, partially deregulate
Canada Post by removing international letters from Canada Post's exclusive privilege to collect, transmit and
deliver letters.
What’s happening with the bill?
Seco...
.
November 15, 2007
The federal government has introduced Bill C-14, an Act to amend the Canada Post Corporation Act .
The bill will be given second reading and sent to a parliamentary committee for examination sometime soon. If
passed, Bill C-14 would partially deregulate Canada Post by removing international lette...
.
October 31, 2007
The federal government has proposed legislation to partially deregulate Canada Post. This legislation
could undermine Canada Post's ability to provide universal public postal service. It could also set the stage
for further deregulation which would be harmful to postal workers, the public and smal...
.
August 2, 2007
On July 4, 2007, the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, Canadian Union of Postal Workers and
Public Service Alliance of Canada – Union of Postal Communications Employees took part in a roundtable on
postal services and regulatory reform.
The roundtable was part of a...
.
July 24, 2007
UPS cannot destroy our public post office through the back door of NAFTA.
So far so good.
Postal workers and the public were concerned when United Parcel Service (UPS) launched its lawsuit in 2000
against the Government of Canada, under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). We ...
.
May 31, 2007
Postal workers from many countries in Europe marched in uniform through Berlin to defend universal postal
service.
The May 30th action was part of an escalating campaign organized by Union Network International (UNI) to
stop the European Commission plan to remove the only remaining protection...
.
May 2, 2007
Canada Post’s annual report for 2006 shows record volumes and $119 million in net income from the post
office and its companies. It is the post office’s 12 th consecutive year of profit and its
25 th year of providing universal, public postal service.
Annual repor...
.
April 5, 2007
On March 26th, I appeared, on behalf of CUPW members, before a parliamentary committee that is
investigating Canada Post issues such as remail and rural delivery. Canada Post President Moya Greene and
representatives from the Canadian International Mailers Association (CIMA) also appeared before t...
.
March 29, 2007
The fight we have been expecting to privatize, deregulate or change the mandate of Canada Post is upon
us.
Canada Post’s competition and right wing forces have been chasing their dream of taking down the post
office since the Tories were elected. International mailers have been l...
.
March 1, 2007
Right wing forces have been chasing their dream of taking down the post office since the Conservatives
came to power last year. In the most recent attempt, the conservative think-tank, the C.D. Howe Institute,
launched a vicious attack on our public post office with the release of its study called...
.
February 15, 2007
Canada Post’s competition has been working overtime on undermining our public post office since the Tories
were elected. For the last year, international mailers have been campaigning to reduce Canada Post’s
exclusive privilege. Now, the conservative think tank, the CD Howe Institute...
.
October 12, 2006
In November 2005, the Union implemented a national action plan to inform the public about the closure of
the Quebec City mail processing plant and other potential post office closures, including offices in rural
areas.
Shortly before the end of November 2005, the Union escalated its campaign ...
.
The federal government and Canada Post recently announced that the moratorium on post office closures in
rural and small towns would continue. This is excellent news for people who live in rural and small towns. It
is also great news for workers at close to 4000 public post offices. The moratorium...
.
February 10, 2006
In a landmark decision, arbitrator Guy Dulude has ordered Canada Post Corporation to postpone further moves towards closing the Quebec City postal plant until they have complied with the terms of Article 29 of the CUPW urban operations collective agreement.
Dulude, who is one of Canada’s...
.
Canada Post issued an intercom bulletin on December 1, 2005 which objects to CUPW's public campaign to stop the corporation from closing post offices and the Québec Mail Processing Plant. The corporation is particularly upset by CUPW's letter to community newspapers and our campaign button ...
.
The campaign to stop closures, privatization and deregulation is heating up. Check out the most recent entries from the chronology of events section of the union's website (www.PublicPostOffice.ca) October 17, 2005 Solid Bloc support On October 17th Bloc Quebecois members of Parliament (MPs) start...
.
If any members out there still doubt the necessity of launching a full-scale fight-back campaign against closures, privatization or deregulation at Canada Post, READ ON. Canada Post has just posted two jobs on its web site, with duties that include managing massive network changes, including priva...
.
The Your public post office delivers campaign is designed to combat closures, privatization and deregulation at Canada Post and get the federal government and corporation to maintain, expand and improve public postal service and jobs. You can now follow the progress of this campaign through our web...
.
|
