Earlier this month, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers published an update on their website regarding contract negotiations with Canada Post.
The bargaining team for the workers reached a tentative agreement with the employer back in December, and workers spent 6 weeks in April and May voting on whether to accept the proposed agreement.
The update is for the two largest bargaining units of unionized Canada Post workers: Urban Postal Operations (UPO) and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC).
The previous collective agreements for both groups of CUPW members expired at the end of January 2024, and that was after a two-year extension; the contract was originally supposed to expire in 2022.
The first bargaining session was held on 15 November 2023, and bargaining over the next 2 years was fraught with issues, leading to a strike, which the federal Liberals cracked down on.
This month’s update reported that 89.0% of UPO members and 85.9% of RSMC members voted in favour of ratification.
The new agreements, which is already almost halfway to its expiry date in January 2029, include annual wage increases.
The first two wage increases are retroactive, with 6.5% in the first year and 3% in the second year. Wage increases this year, next year, and in 2028 will be based on the average annual increase in the consumer price index for the preceding 12-month period from October to September.
Canada Post’s offer has been 6%, 3%, 2%, and 2%.
Cost-of-living increases will remain in the collective agreements; however, they will be suspended for the final 3 years of the agreement to account for the increases tied to inflation, which I mentioned above.
Both contracts
Here are some other shared changes in the two agreements.
Canada Post wanted future workers to be employed for 6 consecutive months as a regular employee before qualifying for health benefits. This restriction did not make it into the collective agreement.
Psychotherapists will be added to therapies covered by the workers’ extended health plan, which already covers psychologists and social workers. The maximum annual amount that can be claimed has increased 50%, from $2,000 to $3,000, and the co-pay is 20%.
Massage coverage has increased from $400 a year to $500 a year, also with a 20% co-pay.
Gender-affirming care has been added to both agreements, with a lifetime maximum of $15,000. It also has a 20% co-pay.
Vaccines for the flu and shingles will now be covered, and the maximum annual coverage will be $1,000 a year.
Prescription dispensing fees will now be capped at just $9.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be included as a designated paid holiday.
Injury on duty payments will be increase from 75% of regular wages to 80% pf regular wages.
Workers with at least 3 consecutive months of continuous employment will be granted up to 5 days leave without pay per year to engage in traditional Indigenous practices.
New to the collective agreements is leave for victims of family violence, which is 10 days per year, the first half of which will be paid.
Maternity wear allowance has increased to $250.
Canada Post wanted to increase cost-sharing contributions of workers from 5% to 15% for the medical portion of the health plan. This did not end up in the new contracts.
RSMC contract
The radius for relocating “surplus employees” has been lowered from 70 kilometres to 60 kilometres.
The time that a laid off worker can be on the recall list has been increased to 24 months from 12 months.
Increments in the wage table has increased from 5 to 7, and anyone who is not at the top rate will be automatically bumped into the next increment. This is on top of the wage increases I listed earlier. As well, the starting rate will be 80% of the top rate.
Canada Post is implementing a new route measurement system. Here are what workers can expect at the offices that move to the new system:
- Installations with 10+ routes will have a minimum number of routes guaranteed 40 hours per week.
- Routes not guaranteed 40 hours per week will be built to maximize 40-hour weekly schedules “insofar as practicable”.
- Routes will have fixed schedules with start and end times, but scheduled hours of work may vary day to day.
- No daily schedule will be more than 9 hours.
- When employees work beyond their scheduled hours, they will be compensated for all the daily hours they work above their schedule at the appropriate rate.
- Those with 40-hour week variable schedules will get overtime for any hours worked beyond their daily scheduled hours.
- Hours worked on the 6th day, 7th day, or a scheduled day of rest will be paid at double time.
All permanent relief workers will be permanent flex workers, which will be guaranteed a minimum of 20 scheduled hours per week but may be assigned to work up to 40. They will mainly cover vacation leaves and other absences. If there is no work for them at their regular location, they may be assigned work at somewehere else but within a 50-kilometre radius; travel time in those instances will be deemed time worked and therefore paid. Canada Post may also create permanent flex assignments for Saturday and Sunday parcel deliver “or other unstructured work”.
UPO contract
A new position classification has been created called parcel delivery part-time. Workers in this classification will be scheduled a minimum 15 hours per week, the majority of which will be on the weekend. They will be assigned to a primary depot but may work from centralized hubs.
Canada Post has agreed to protect 393 of their retail counters across the country. Previously, they wanted the ability to close as many retail counters as they wanted.
60% of full-time letter carrier routes start at or before 10:30 and 40% no later than noon. Canada Post has wanted to change this to “reflect network needs and efficiency objectives”.
These workers managed to keep dynamic routing and load levelling out of the agreement, two things Canada Post wanted to bring in.
They also managed to keep in the 5-minute wash-up time, which Canada Post had wanted to eliminate.
Restructuring routes after introducing weekend delivery will not occur for 18 months. Canada Post wanted to restructure routes immediately. As well, there will be no weekend delivery fro large-volume commercial customers.
Canada Post wanted to introduce a new part-time flex position which would force extensions of up to 20 hours per week and would apply to no more than 15% of full-time letter carrier assignments. The workers managed to negotiate this to part-time unstructured positions, which would have voluntary extensions and would apply to 8% of full-time letter carrier nationally and only 12% per location.
