Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) ratified a collective agreement on September 30, 2003, making them CUPW members and Canada Post employees. This move allowed RSMCs the opportunity to bargain collectively for fair wages and work conditions. 6,000 RSMCs deliver mail in rural and suburban areas. Seventy percent are women and over thirty percent of RSMCs work out of offices with letter carriers and clerks. The rest work with rural postmasters.
Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends: The issue of point allotment for new and replacement uniforms, as provided for under article 34 of the urban collective agreement, was on the agenda of the last meeting of the National Joint Uniform Committee (NJUC), on September 22. RSMCs became eligible to the uniform program on October 1, 2019.…
The new CUPW film Justice and Dignity for All, which details the 40-year struggle of RSMCs to gain working rights and pay, premiered virtually on Sunday, October 25th. Despite COVID restrictions relegating us to a virtual premiere, the event was well attended by members across the country. The premiere included not only the screening of…
On June 11, 2020, Arbitrator MacPherson ordered that all continuous service of the RSMCs since they became employees on January 1, 2004 be recognized for the right to post-retirement benefits. IMPACT OF THE DECISION This means that RSMCs who decide to retire with 15 or more years of continuous service have the right to enroll…
CUPW is proud to share its latest documentary, Justice and Dignity for All: Stories from the Struggle for Pay Equity, and invites all members to a special premiere screening of the film on Sunday, October 25th at 4 pm ET on Zoom. This is the inspiring tale of the forty-year effort by the Rural and…
Canada Post Finally Provides a Timeline for Employees on Workers Compensation Board (WCB) for the Retroactive Period It has been 11 months since the “phase 3” retro payment for pay equity was paid out by CPC. Following this payment, CPC was to work on getting payment to RSMCs who were off work on Injury on…
Following many discussions with Canada Post representatives and after reviewing the arbitration decision, in great detail, some clarifications to the June 18, 2020 Bulletin (#152) are required. Arbitrator MacPherson’s award only covers hours worked in excess of 40 hours a week. It also includes a trigger to have access to overtime payment. The Union’s Interpretation…
Following the publication of the arbitration award of Arbitrator MacPherson, Canada Post management formally requested that she correct her award with respect to the monetary increases for the variable allowance (householder delivery) and the knowledge sort and civic address allowance. On June 29, 2020, after hearing arguments from the legal counsel of both CUPW and…
Fairly early on in this process, the parties were able to negotiate and sign language giving the Union access to the information that Canada Post uses to restructure letter carrier and RSMC routes. To many of you this may not appear to be related to overburdening, but it is one of the keys that will…
Job Retention is new for RSMCs. Since RSMCs are now paid the derived hourly rate of Letter Carriers, there could be an incentive for Canada Post to contract out bargaining unit work. CUPW needed to ensure the work that RSMCs perform every day is protected. Why Was This Needed? CUPW argued that there was little…
At a time when many workers are losing job security protections, CUPW has been successful in securing job security for RSMCs! CUPW was clear from the outset, to both the Arbitrator and the Corporation, that this was one of our key demands for RSMCs for this round of bargaining. With the Pay Equity decision, RSMCs…
Arbitrator MacPherson awarded the Urban and RSMC bargaining units the same wage increases as follows: 2018: 2.0% 2019: 2.0% 2020: 2.5% 2021: 2.9% The RSMC increases are effective January 1st of each year and the Urban increases are effective February 1st of each year as these are the effective dates of the collective agreements. The…
During the arbitration process imposed through Bill C-89, CUPW proposed many changes to the payment of hours worked by RSMCs, including regular, overtime, and weekend hours. For us, it is inconceivable that a worker would not be paid for all his or her hours of work. Arbitrator MacPherson’s award only covers hours worked in excess…
Arbitrator MacPherson informed the parties that a clerical error had crept into her decision on the RSMC collective agreement. She confirmed that wage increases will take place on January 1st of the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 (as was the case in the previous collective agreement) and not on February 1st. Therefore, retroactive pay…
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, some RSMC members chose to cancel their annual leave that was scheduled between March 22 and May 30, 2020. As a result of this, many members now have vacation weeks that are not scheduled in the remaining 2020 Vacation Leave schedule. We have been in consultation with Canada Post to…
Today we received the long awaited interest arbitration decision from Arbitrator Elizabeth MacPherson. Below is a summary of this decision and how it will impact RSMCs. The Following Was Imposed by the Arbitrator Duration As per the parties agreement, this will be a 4 year collective agreement expiring on December 31, 2021. Wages The wage…
Canada Post has notified the Union that they are changing the work methods for RSMCs. In regard to Personal Contact Items (PCIs), CPC has decided that there will no longer be a 0.5 KM rule. CUPW had agreed to this as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 crisis as long as this is voluntary. It…
AMENDED The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) met with the Canada Post Corporation (CPC) on March 13th, 2020. CUPW requested further information on CPC’s procedure for RSMCs who have been told by health professionals to self-isolate and/or quarantine themselves. CPC responded that RSMCs who have a health professional’s note or self-isolate and/or quarantine themselves…
We informed you last month when the federally-appointed arbitrator on our Urban Postal Operations and RSMC collective agreements applied for an extension of her mandate. We now have official notice that the extension has been granted, as you may have heard in the news this week. The term is extended to June 30, 2020. Not…
On your October 17, 2019 pay, there was a deduction for union dues arrears. This should have been the final deduction for union dues arrears due to the pay equity decision. Unfortunately, Canada Post made an error in the calculation. They did not deduct union dues on the retroactive rest period allowance payment (RPA). How…
Following a National Executive Board decision, members of the rural unit will be delivering a Canadian Tire neighbourhood mail item starting on November 12, 2019. Without a memorandum of agreement, the Canada Post Corporation has the right under the RSMC collective agreement to demand that delivery take place in a single day and be compensated…
Phase three of RSMC retro payment will be on the October 17th pay. This payment will cover the retro payments for the Rest Period Allowance (RPA), Personal Contact Items (PCI) and admail (Neighbourhood Mail). All items, with the exception of admail, will cover from January 1, 2016 up until the October 17 pay period. On…
IMPORTANT: You have until September 30, 2019 to use your actual points. During this round of negotiations, the parties agreed language that gives RSMC employees the same uniform entitlement as Urban Letter Carriers. Hence, the same uniform and the same colour. As part of the transition to the new points system, all existing points that…
On July 4, CUPW and the employer signed a Memorandum of Agreement to establish a committee to review the work content and workload of RSMCs. We need three (3) union representatives on this committee. Its mandate will be to determine and assess the RSMC work content and workload, allowing both parties to have informed discussions…
We are coming up to the final phase of the wage adjustment for Pay Equity. As of now, we are on course for the payment to be released sometime in October. Phase 3 payment will include payments for Rest Period Allowance, PCIs and Admail. RSMCs will also see adjustments on their Schedule A for activity…
While summer has been late to arrive in many regions, some have already experienced heat waves, and it is very likely that more will occur again this year. Find out about the dangers posed by heatwaves. Take the necessary precautions and encourage your brothers and sisters to do the same. Take Precautions Slow down. Your…
While the retroactive wages have been paid and the phase three payments remain on track for this fall, there are other issues we are working on. Issues in Dispute 1. Isolated Post Allowances (IPA): Canada Post is refusing to pay the IPA on all hours worked as is the case in the Urban Operations unit.…
The retro wage portion of the pay equity award will be paid on June 13, 2019. Below is information provided by Canada Post. A detailed breakdown of the underlying data will be available, for each pay period in the retroactive period, on Employee Self Serve (ESS) beginning on Sunday June 9th. When you log in…
This bulletin is to inform you that CUPW and Canada Post have found an error in the way union dues have been calculated and deducted for Permanent Relief Employees (PRE) in the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) bargaining unit. In accordance with a resolution adopted by the National Executive Board, monthly union dues calculations…
The Pay Equity Implementation Committee has been meeting with Canada Post representatives to establish timelines for the payment of the retroactive amounts owing to RSMCs. These payments will be made in lump sum amounts. Wage Increase: On January 1, 2019, the activity values, on a going forward basis, will be adjusted to reflect the letter…
On Saturday, November 17, 2018 we responded to Canada Post’s November 14th global offer by presenting them with a global offer that addresses our needs and our demands. A Negotiated Collective Agreement is Possible We believe that our proposal can be the basis of a collective agreement. To that end we have requested that the…
Canada Post has been saying in the media that they have offered “job security”. What Canada Post has offered is not real job security for the RSMCs whose jobs might be eliminated. Why Is Job Security So Important? RSMC’s work has been recognized as being of equal value to the work of letter carriers and…
Your negotiating committee has now had an opportunity to review and analyze the new RSMC global offer that we received from Canada Post on November 14, 2018 in the afternoon. Canada Post says this latest offer will expire at 11:59 pm on Saturday, November 17, 2018. Canada Post has made some movements towards addressing our…
Earlier this year an arbitrator ruled that the work of Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) is of equal value to their urban counterparts, but there are still numerous issues to address before RSMCs have rights and conditions that are truly equal. Two of these issues are: Read more (PDF)
Today, your National Executive Board issued what is known as a “72-hour strike notice” to Canada Post for both the RSMC and Urban units. The National Executive Board has decided that the strike will begin on Monday morning, October 22, 2018, at 00:01 should we not have reached negotiated settlements. The National Executive Board has…
Your negotiating committee worked hard all weekend in an attempt to get a negotiated collective agreement. Unfortunately, many key issues remain unresolved. We made some progress but we still have a long way to go to get a good settlement. Read more (PDF)
Your negotiating committee has now had an opportunity to review and analyse the new RSMC global offer that we received from Canada Post on October 3, 2018 in the afternoon. In an attempt to jumpstart these negotiations, Canada Post withdrew some of its rollbacks that were in the September 7 global offer. Canada Post has…
The final arbitration decision was issued by Arbitrator Maureen Flynn today. Here are the results. Wages: Activity values are to be increased to reflect the letter carrier hourly wage rate retroactive to January 1, 2016. Read more (PDF)
After 90 days of mediation, we went before Arbitrator Flynn on September 12th to deal with issues still in dispute between the parties. Read more (PDF)
On Friday, September 14, 2018 we responded to Canada Post’s September 7th global offer by presenting them with a global offer that addresses our needs and our demands. We are determined to achieve significant improvements in the RSMC collective agreement and equality for RSMCs. Read more (PDF)
Your negotiating committee has now had an opportunity to review and analyse the RSMC global offer that we received from Canada Post on September 7 in the afternoon. There are many key issues missing and unacceptable proposals from Canada Post. Read more (PDF)
Yesterday, August 30, was the final meeting in our attempts to negotiate all the terms for implementing the pay equity settlement that were not settled in Arbitrator Flynn’s May 31 decision. Today is the deadline, after which all remaining issues are to be settled by Arbitrator Flynn. We’ve certainly made progress in these ninety days,…
Corporation Fully Capable of Absorbing One-Time Payment Canada Post announced today a second quarter loss of $242 million, but this should not be seen as an indication of the overall health of the corporation. The loss is due to a one-time payment which Canada Post will have to make to settle their longstanding pay-equity issue…
After two frustrating months of “intense negotiations”, none of our major demands have been the object of an agreement in principle. It seems to us that CPC is just stalling… Here are a few of our demands that have been the focus of discussion for the past months. Read More (PDF)
We have just completed two full days of meetings with Mediator/Arbitrator Maureen Flynn and the CPC Pay Equity Committee (July 17th and 18th). Counsel for both parties also participated. Read more (PDF)
The pay equity arbitration hearings are over and we are now waiting for arbitrator Flynn to render her decision. She has informed the parties that we can expect a decision within 30 days. CUPW’s Position is Simple, Logical and Reflects Reality CUPW maintains that RSMCs perform work of equal value to letter carriers and therefore…
Implementation At the April 10, 2018 RSMC National Consultation the Corporation indicated that, commencing April 23, 2018, it is their intent to update the delivery process for parcels. This change affects more than 6,000 routes. The change in the delivery process treats all parcels as “to the door” or Personal Contact Items (PCI), which impacts…
We have now completed the testimony of 2 of the corporation’s witnesses; Rob Sinclair, Director of Labour Relations and Susan Whitely, Director Delivery Strategy (formerly the Director of National RSMC Operations), in front of Arbitrator Flynn in the Pay Equity Arbitration: Read more
CUPW is looking for RSMC members who would like to become facilitators. This responsibility consists of delivering training to your Sisters and Brothers on the work floor. The training would include work methods and the use of the reaching device (RRD) for mail delivery to rural mailboxes. Facilitators called upon to provide the training will…
We have now completed 7 days of the Pay Equity Arbitration. The Union has completed our case and we are now awaiting Canada Post to put forward their evidence. Read more
On Sunday, December 31, 2017, two days before the deadline for submitting its consultant’s second report on pay equity, Canada Post asked the arbitrator for more time. Read more details in this PDF Bulletin from CUPW National.