Letter to Moya Greene

January 26, 2006

PRIORITY POST

Moya Greene
President and Chief Executive Officer
Canada Post Corporation
2701 Riverside Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0B1

Dear Ms. Greene:

On behalf of the 54,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), I am writing to request all strategic planning documents relating to the corporation’s national network review and its overall vision and plan for our public post office.

On July 14, 2005, Canada Post announced it would be reviewing the national network, including all mechanized processing plants, and that the Quebec City mail processing plant would be the first facility to be reviewed. A mere three weeks later, the corporation announced its intention to close the Quebec City plant, thereby reducing service and destroying 302 jobs in Quebec City.

As you know, Canada Post has refused to release information relating to the national network review. The corporation claims that it does not have a plan.

It is inconceivable that Canada Post, a corporation with an international reputation for being a sophisticated provider of quality postal service at affordable rates, does not have a plan for the national network review. Major corporations like Canada Post do not decide to close facilities without long-range, detailed plans.

Canada Post has failed to provide adequate information relating to its national network review and its overall plan for our public post office. In the case of the review, the corporation has failed to meet its obligations under the urban operations collective agreement. It has also failed to consult with the public and postal workers in any meaningful way about the review and the overall plan for our public post office.

I think it is fair to say that people expect much more transparency and accountability from Canada Post. I know that CUPW certainly does. I am therefore reiterating my request that you meet your obligations under the collective agreement to provide the union with the type of information that allows union representatives to engage in meaningful consultation with respect to the national network review. I am also hoping that you will provide us with information about your overall plan for our public post office. Our members have the right to know what could be in store for them in the future. The public and postal workers have the right to know what may happen to their public postal system.

I have attached, for your information, a chronology of events relating to the corporation's plans for public post offices and plants and the response these plans have received from the public, communities, postal workers and politicians.

I await your response to these matters.

Yours truly,

Deborah Bourque
National President

c.c.: CUPW National Executive Board
Regional Education and Organization Officers
National Union Representatives
Specialists
All CUPW locals
All members of Parliament
John Gustavson, President, Canadian Marketing Association
Kathleen Rowe, President, National Association of Major Mail Users
Catherine Swift, President, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
John Hinds, Executive Director, Canadian Community Newspaper Association
Gilles Duceppe, Leader, Bloc Quebecois
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Jack Layton, Leader, New Democratic Party
Paul Martin, Leader, Liberal Party
Josée Verner, Chair of the Quebec Caucus, Conservative Party of Canada
Leslie Schous, President, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
Richard Des Lauriers, President, Union of Postal Communications Employees, Public Service Alliance of Canada

 

 

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

Plant and Post Office Closures

July 14, 2005 – Canada Post informed the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) it would be reviewing the national network, including all mechanized mail processing plants, and that the plant in Quebec City would be the first facility to be reviewed. The corporation did not mention anything about closing the plant in Quebec City.

August 3, 2005 – Without any consultation with CUPW, the community or large volume mailers, Canada Post announced its intention to close the mail processing plant in Quebec City and transfer mail processing to Montreal.

August 10, 2005 – CUPW National President Deborah Bourque sent a letter to Canada Post President Moya Greene to express “our complete opposition to Canada Post’s plans to close the Quebec City postal plant and our determination that Canada Post must reverse this hasty and unwise decision.” Bourque demanded a full explanation of the corporation’s intentions concerning every mechanized postal facility.

Bourque also reminded Greene that, when she was initially appointed as Canada Post’s President, she indicated she wished “to maintain a ‘no surprises’ relationship with the union.” CUPW was therefore very surprised that, instead of notice and consultation, Greene handed down a predetermined decision taken without any consultation.

August 2005 to present – CUPW attended a series of union-management meetings in an effort to get the corporation to abide by its obligations under the collective agreement.

Canada Post is obligated under clause 29.05 of its urban operations collective agreement with CUPW, to hold constructive and meaningful consultations with the union in an effort to reach agreement on solutions to problems arising from changes such as the Quebec City plant closure.

Canada Post is also obligated under clause 29.03 (a) to give notice “as far as possible in advance of its intention” to introduce technological change, such as the closure of a mechanized plant. Canada Post is obligated under clause 29.03 (b) to provide CUPW with at least 120 calendar days before the introduction of technological change. The corporation is also required to give the union “a detailed description of the project it intends to carry out, disclosing all foreseeable effects and repercussions on employees.”

While the corporation has given the union 120 days notice of the closure, it has not lived up to its obligation to give the notice “as far as possible in advance of its intention” and it has not provided the union with detailed information on what will happen to employees, service, costs, revenues, etc.

August 31, 2005 – CUPW filed a grievance over Canada Post's failure to meet its obligations under 29.03 (a) and 29.03(b) with regard to its national network review, including plans to close the plant in Quebec City.

September 21, 2005 – Bourque wrote to John McCallum, then minister responsible for Canada Post, to object to Canada Post’s plan to close the mail processing plant in Quebec City and other potential closures. She asked the former government to live up to its commitments on the moratorium on post office closures and instruct Canada Post to adopt a uniform and democratic process for making changes to the postal network. She also asked the former government to let the union know whether the government supported or opposed the privatization and deregulation of Canada Post.

September 30, 2005 – Josée Verner, Chair of the Quebec Caucus for the Conservative Party of Canada wrote to Greene. Verner said “It is with dismay that my colleagues from the Quebec caucus and I have learned of Canada Post’s intent to close the mail processing plant located on St. Paul St.” She asked Greene to “reconsider this decision.”

October 2005 – Bourque sent a letter to mayors and councillors throughout the country. She outlined the union's concerns relating to the moratorium on post office closures and the review of the national postal network. She also asked municipalities to consider passing a resolution calling on the federal government to instruct Canada Post:

1. To stop the closure of the mail sorting plant in Quebec City and proposed closures in other locations.
2. To consult with the public, postal unions and other major stakeholders to develop a uniform and democratic process for making changes to Canada Post's network.
3. To maintain, expand and improve our public postal network.

October 4, 2005 – McCallum sent a response to CUPW's letter dated September 21, 2005. He said the closure of the Quebec City mail processing plant fell outside of the government's role of determining the broad policy direction of Canada Post. McCallum said that he understood that the union had been discussing this matter with Canada Post's president.

McCallum also said that the government's commitment to the moratorium on rural post office closures “remains unwavering.” But he admitted some closures might be “unavoidable.” He did not respond to CUPW's questions about privatization and deregulation.

October 11, 2005 – Lorna Andrews, Legislative Assistant to Brian Pallister, sent an email to CUPW stating “The Conservative Party believes that the government should honour its moratorium on post office closures.” Brian Pallister was then postal critic for the Conservative Party.

November 3, 2005 – Brian Pallister, then post office critic for the Conservative Party, informed fellow members of Parliament in the House of Commons that “a Conservative Party government would review Canada Post's decision to close the Quebec City sorting centre.” Pallister told the House, “It is unthinkable to us that the Montreal centre alone can provide consistent service quality across the province. The people of eastern Quebec deserve quality postal service, equivalent to that provided in the rest of the province.” He gave the chair of the Quebec Conservative Caucus, Josée Verner, credit for her work on this issue. Pallister also told MPs that the Conservatives intend to carry on this work in order to meet the needs of Quebeckers and deliver quality public service. (emphasis added)

December 1, 2005 – CUPW National Grievance Officer Philippe Arbour sent a letter to Claude Marcil, Manager-Labour Relations at Canada Post, which requested detailed information on the corporation's review of the national postal network and additional information on long term plans such as mandate reviews.

December 20, 2005 – McCallum wrote to CUPW to say that the former government was “not currently considering the privatization or deregulation of Canada Post Corporation.”

As of January 2006 – Over 130,000 people have signed a petition stating their opposition to the plant closure in Quebec City.

Thousands more have signed petitions calling on the federal government to instruct Canada Post to maintain, expand and improve its network of public post offices.

More than 800 municipalities have passed resolutions opposing the Quebec plant closure and other closures, and requesting that the corporation consult with the public, postal unions, and other major stakeholders to develop a democratic and uniform process for making changes to Canada Post's network.

Trade unions, federations of labour and labour councils have passed similar resolutions.

CUPW members have signed petitions, written letters, held information pickets, talked to their members of Parliament and sent messages with buttons and t-shirts, all with a view to expressing their opposition to plant and post office closures and their support for public postal service.

CUPW has managed, with the exception of the Liberals, to get all major political parties to agree to stop or review the closure of the plant in Quebec City. It is also our understanding that all parties in Parliament, save for the Liberals, support the moratorium on rural post office closures.