Mail is once again flowing on the Sunshine Coast following the recent postal dispute, but rural postal workers could take their own job action this December.
Dec. 31 marks the end of a contract between the Canada Post Corporation (CPC) and the rural arm of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
Local CUPW 840 president Charlene Penner said, although rural workers are not allowed to strike under their current contract, they will be permitted to strike like their urban counterparts after the contract ends in December.
"I would think that if Canada Post bargains with us the same way that they have bargained with the urban unit, then we probably will [strike]," Penner said. "Unless they are going to bargain in good faith with the rural workers, it probably will come to that, I would think."
Contract negotiations between CPC and the urban CUPW workers stalled months ago, and after rotating strikes by the CUPW and a CPC imposed lockout, the federal government stepped in. After a two-day debate in the House of Commons and a 53-26 vote in the senate, back-to-work legislation was enacted on June 26.
"We're all very, very disappointed about that back-to-work legislation. It's a sad day in Canada for labour," Penner said. "To have the government legislate you back, first of all pretending like it's a strike, when in fact they had locked people out, and then doing nothing to negotiate during the whole time and then sitting back waiting for the government to send people back to work, and with a contract that isn't what the union was looking for."
But West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Member of Parliament John Weston said the back-to-work legislation was needed.
"It was definitely the right thing to do," Weston said. "Canada's economy was being hurt. Small business people across the country suffered when their postal services were not running. People needed to receive their funds, which in many cases is still processed by mail, and the negotiations had begun as long ago as October."
Weston said the Minister of Labour was offered to help mediate between the two sides, having helped the Maritime workers and employers come to an agreement about a month ago, but the help didn't result in any agreement being reached.
"The situation was not headed for a voluntary reconciliation, and therefore the Minister had to step in," Weston said.
He said there were about 60 hours of debate in the House of Commons over the back-to-work legislation, dubbed Bill C-6, and said Conservative MPs were on hand whenever a vote was called.
"Almost all the Con-servative MPs were in the house whenever needed for votes at any time of the day or night. My last shift was a 3 to 6 a.m. shift, and I'd say there was a high level of esprit de corps in the house," Weston said.
"Our whip brought in lots of pizza, and one MP brought in a guitar, not in the house, but in the lobby next door, so there were ways we kept ourselves awake and engaged and ready for the task at hand."
When Penner spoke with Coast Reporter June 29, she said mail volumes were manageable, although some other areas of Canada were experiencing large volumes of backlogged mail to sort through.
"Yesterday it was very light and today it's a little heavier with the HST ballot forms coming in. It's picking up, but it's not an overload," she said.
