By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: June 15, 2011 11:28 AM

Canada Post locks out workers

The union representing 50,000 locked-out postal workers is blasting Canada Post's decision to suspend operations and halt mail service across the country as "irresponsible" following 12 days of rotating strikes.

Canada Post announced the move to suspend operations in a statement late Tuesday, saying it had no choice when faced with an "accelerating" decline in volumes and revenue, combined with an "inability to deliver mail on a timely and safe basis."

"We believe that a lockout is the best way to bring a timely resolution to this impasse and force the union to seriously consider proposals that address the declining mail volumes and the $3.2-billion pension deficit," the Crown corporation said.

But in a statement Wednesday morning, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Canada Post is "reneging on its responsibility to the public to deliver mail that has been paid for."

Meanwhile, federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt's office said Wednesday "the game has changed" with the national lockout, and that back-to-work legislation similar to what the government is introducing to end the Air Canada strike is now a consideration.

But the minister's office stressed that she is still focused on the two parties coming together to find a resolution.

Canada Post claimed the rotating strikes had caused losses approaching $100 million as of Tuesday's strike in Toronto and Montreal — and that the figure was climbing daily.

The corporation also cited "several incidents" that led to concerns about moving the mail while keeping employees and customers safe.

"Canada Post and CUPW remain far apart on several fundamental issues and there has been no progress made at the negotiating table for weeks," the corporation said in its statement.

"If we allow the uncertainty created by the rotating strikes to continue, our ability to remain financially self-sufficient and not become a burden on Canadian taxpayers will be in jeopardy."

The union countered that the lockout was "counterproductive" to Raitt's request to resume operations.

"Canada Post is claiming that it has lost $100 million. Their constant 'No' at the bargaining table is costing them dearly," CUPW said in its statement.

"If they want to stop losing money, they need to negotiate instead of attacking their workers."

Locked out Montreal workers were delaying some trucks from entering the largest postal distribution centre in Quebec Wednesday morning, which tied up traffic around the facility, the CBC's Steve Rukavina reported Wednesday.

The workers allowed a manager to leave the parking lot after holding him up for about 30 minutes. They are allowing trucks intended for delivery of social service cheques to enter as part of an agreement with Canada Post. A police cruiser was on the scene discussing the situation with union security officials, but exchanges are generally polite, Rukavina said.

'No regard for the customer'

The lockout came as a surprise to postal workers on the job in Vancouver shortly after 8 p.m. PT, said Robert Mulvin, president of the CUPW local.

"It sounded like mayhem. People were being ushered out of the building … unannounced to the union at any point before then," he said.

"Plants are jammed with mail right now…basically it looks like they filled the facilities with mail and then locked the door, with no regard for the customer at all."

The rotating strikes had been effective in drawing attention to the postal workers' cause without overly disrupting mail delivery, he said.

"They wanted to push us into a full-scale strike, and instead of that they locked us out."

Despite the lockout, Mulvin said, an agreement remains in place to deliver pension cheques and other government payments.

Hundreds of workers who arrived at the Gateway Postal Facility in Mississauga, Ont., ready to work at 11:30 p.m. were greeted by management and given written notice that they were locked out.

"I see it as a manoeuvre on the part of the corporation to try and get the government to legislate us back to work and legislate some type of unfavourable collective agreement on to us, as opposed to allowing the free and collective bargaining process to work itself out," said Gerry Deveau, CUPW national director for the Ontario region.

Toronto, Montreal walkouts disruptive

Canada Post's decision to lock out workers followed 24-hour strikes in Toronto and Montreal, which handle 60 per cent of the country's mail, a disruption that was expected to carry over for another day.

About 15,000 workers walked out in Toronto and Montreal. "Now it's really having an impact on our ability to operate," said Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton.

The union had accused the Crown corporation of trying to trigger a full strike by reducing service to three days a week — calling it a "partial lockout" — in order to force the federal government to bring in back-to-work legislation.

CUPW national president Denis Lemelin insisted the rolling strikes had affected only about 30 per cent of the Canadian population so far, while plenty of mail in the system awaits delivery. The union chief displayed photographs to reporters of full mail rooms that he said raised questions about Canada Post's claims that mail volume had dropped drastically.

CUPW had offered to suspend its targeted walkouts if Canada Post reinstates the workers' collective agreement, which lapsed in January, but the Crown corporation declined to do so.

Stubborn issues unresolved

Canada Post and CUPW held negotiations Saturday and into the night Sunday, facilitated by a mediator, but the two sides are still at odds on a host of issues, including new mail-processing technology the company wants to implement and wages for new hires.

On salaries, the union has said the parties are "fairly close" on wages for regular employees, but Canada Post is pushing for a significant cut in the hourly rate for new hires, to as low as $18 from about $23.

The union said Canada Post has been profitable for the last 16 years and is misrepresenting its financial position. It acknowledges first-class mail volume is down, but said that overall, it amounts to only a seven per cent dip since 2006.

The Crown corporation counters that measured on a per-address basis, mail volumes are down 17 per cent since 2006 and calls the union "out of touch" with the challenges facing the mail service.

CUPW also denounced the withdrawal of employee medical benefits, saying some of its members are facing huge bills for medications that would have been covered by their drug plan.

Canada Post suspended its workers' health and dental coverage when the union issued its strike notice in May.

Reference:

§ http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/canada-post-locks-out-workers, Jun-15-11.