No local postal workers have been laid off yet by Canada Post, although the CUPW confirms the Crown corporation has laid off workers in other regions of the country for participating in strike actions.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
No members of the local 776 CUPW have been laid off after Canada Post told several major Canadian media organizations Thursday it was temporarily laying off workers who are participating in a nationwide postal strike.
The announcement caused confusion for the more than 100 postal workers in Medicine Hat, Redcliff, Brooks and surrounding communities who were reassured by union representatives they still had their jobs as of Friday morning while arriving at the picket line outside the Canada Post office along Kipling Street.
“They put it out there in the press just because they were hoping the press would jump on it and freak out the workers, and that’s exactly what happened,” says Karen Hellawell, local 776 vice-president. “Postal workers are seeing this very clearly now, that this is just another smear campaign. They’re just trying to freak us out and panic everyone.”
Workers who have My Service Canada Accounts online did receive their Records of Employment from the Crown corporation, adding more confusion to the situation.
“A record of employment is supposed to be issued to any employee that hasn’t worked or been paid for five days, that’s just the law,” explains Hellawell. “So again, certain people were thinking they were getting an ROE and we’re getting laid off.”
Local postal workers who did receive an ROE received it for records of the national strike, however the union can confirm some workers have been laid off in other regions of the country.
Hellawell is extremely critical of the layoffs, stating, “There’s no wiggle room there, it’s definitely 150 per cent illegal.” The union has cited a section of the Canada Labour Code that forbids employers from laying off workers who are participating in a strike.
She says layoffs only hamper negotiations between the CUPW and Canada Post that have now been temporarily suspended by a federal special mediator appointed to lead bargaining talks at the table.
Saturday marks the 15th consecutive day of strike action by more than 55,000 postal workers nationwide who are currently negotiating to keep their pension and the prevention of part-time labour that will be contracted out to fill weekend delivery service gaps.
“There’s two things that we will not negotiate away,” says Hellawell. “One is our pension and the other is to bring in gig workers for weekend work.”
Saturday also marks the 15th consecutive day since postal workers were cut off from benefits, a decision Canada Post made immediately when the union provided strike notice Nov. 15.
“We have a woman who is actively battling cancer, she is now having to pay for all of her expenses. Nothing is covered,” says Hellawell, who told the News fellow postal workers have been contributing to medical expenses.
“If you chip a tooth or get a cavity or, you know, those really simple things, we have zero coverage for it,” says Hellawell. “And they chose, as of the (Nov. 15), our very first day on the line, they chose to pull our benefits.”
Although talks between both sides have been temporarily suspended to allow for a ‘cooling off’ period, Hellawell hopes the union and Canada Post will be able to meet at the bargaining table again soon to make headway on negotiations that are stalled on key issues.
“There’s stuff we could make ground on but they will not. So the mediator is saying you’ve got to start working on other stuff, and the mediator is saying to the union, ‘You’ve got to start making some movement on that stuff,” says Hellawell.
Earlier this week Canada Post said it missed out on delivering an estimated 10 million parcels in the first 11 days of the strike. The CUPW says it is expecting a large backlog of parcels and mail when postal workers do return to work following a settlement.
