PSAC will not accept Canada Post’s final offer

Union says proposal will pit workers against each other, erode member benefits

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced that it will not agree with Canada Post Corporation’s (CPC) final offer.

After a year of negotiations, Canada Post presented its final offer to PSAC/Union of Postal Communication Employees. The offer includes wage increases for the first two years in a four-year agreement as well as separate terms for existing and future employees.

“Our view is that the CPC proposal as it stands would impose a two-tiered workplace, resulting in unequal benefits for members doing the same or similar work,” PSAC said. “This erosion of member benefits will pit worker against worker. We also believe that the current workforce will be asked to accept the same concessions in the next round of bargaining.”

The offer preserves job security, the defined benefit (DB) pension plan and the current vacation leave eligibility and pre-retirement leave for existing employees while proposing reduced wages, pension and vacation plans for future employees.

“This offer preserves everything existing employees have today, including a defined benefit pension and job security, but recognizes the corporation’s serious financial challenges by proposing measures for new employees that are more affordable for the corporation,” read Canada Post’s statement.

PSAC said the offer was “simply not good enough.”

“The wage scale would be adjusted so new employees would start at a wage level 15 per cent lower than the current lowest wage rate… For anyone hired after signing the collective agreement, the earliest a new employee could achieve job security is in 2023… In a nutshell, newly hired members would have to work longer to achieve less. It is for these reasons your bargaining team cannot agree to this last offer by the Canada Post Corporation as it stands. Your bargaining team will continue to advocate and seek improvements.”

In a summary of its offer to PSAC, Canada Post said that it was imperative for the company to reduce labour costs in order to have a viable future.

“As we have told your union, it is the best we can do; we cannot go any further. For that reason, delays will not make this offer more generous. In fact, continued deterioration of our business results could cause the company to revise this offer downward.”

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