Striking postal workers, frustrated with the federal government's decision to table back-to-work legislation, are demanding their local MPs take action against a move they call "unjust" and "illegal".
Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Local 566 in London occupied the constituency office of London West MP Kate Young Friday afternoon to protest the Liberal government’s announcement of back-to-work legislation for Canada Post employees. The move to occupy the MP's office was part of a coordinated protest at other constituency offices around the country.
Around 14 people, made up of union members and their supporters, demanded to speak with MP Young directly on Friday, which was done over the phone.
"They were able to explain that they needed her to vote 'no' to the legislation and they explained why," said Karen Finlay-Russell, president of CUPW Local 566, who added that they urged the MP to respect workers’ rights to free to fair collective bargaining. "There are postal workers, RSMCs [Rural and Suburban Mail Carrier], that don't get paid for every hour they work," said Finlay-Russell. "Letter carriers are out until 9 p.m. at night delivering mail in dark. And we actually have an injury crisis at Canada Post; there's been 7,000 members injured in the past year.
"They got an agreement from her to speak to the labour minister and the minister of transportation," she added.
Since Friday evening, however, the government passed three readings of the legislation and approved it. This was done early Saturday morning, according to the Globe and Mail. The legislation is now being debated by the Canadian Senate and if they approve it, it will take effect at noon that same day.
Finlay-Russell said she was surprised when Minister of Employment, Workforce Development & Labour Patty Hajdu tabled the back-to-work legislation on Thursday, after appointing a mediator to assist with the negotiations.
"I felt they would wait at least until the mediator had an opportunity to work with parties and come up with a collective agreement," said Finlay-Russell
If passed, the legislation will force postal employees back to work and end the rotating strikes at mail facilities in Canada that have been ongoing for the last five weeks.
"It's illegal, it's unfair to postal workers. We deserve a decent collective agreement that protects our rights, health and safety, and other issues," said Finlay-Russell. "It's unjust. We have the right to negotiate with the corporation to get a collective agreement."
Bargaining between CUPW and Canada Post remains ongoing as the two sides attempt to reach a negotiated settlement.
"We feel that Canada Post has come to the table for the last year and really hasn't accomplished anything. We feel they have just stonewalled the union and have just been waiting for the legislation to get us back to work," said Finlay-Russell, who also accused Canada Post of exaggerating about the severity of the mail backlogs.'"[They're] talking about 300 trucks being backed up at Canada Post. We're not seeing that. There's no mail or very little mail at the plant here in London, there are no trucks in the yard full of mail, and we're hearing that's the same across the country.
"We think that the issue is being exaggerated for Canada Post's benefit, to force the government to put us back to work," she said.
Canada Post, however, maintains that the rotating strikes have created massive backlogs of mail and parcels. The corporation added that even if the back-to-work legislation passes, "customers can expect delays for the foreseeable future."