Canada Post’s announcement that they will lock out Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) members as soon as Friday is an attack on collective bargaining, its workers and its customers.

Canada Post is refusing to do the work of collective bargaining with CUPW by demanding massive rollbacks on the union’s hard fought gains.

Those rollbacks include moving all new hires from a defined benefit pension plan, similar to those enjoyed by many BCGEU members, to a defined contribution savings plan. There is no need for this change, as postal workers’ current pension plan is self-funded, self-sustaining, and has a $1.2 billion surplus.

Despite what people may hear in the media, Canada Post has been profitable for the last two decades and is the largest parcel delivery company in Canada. There is no need to demand sweeping concessions from Canada Post workers.

CUPW members are fighting for gender equity in pay and benefits (rural carriers, who are mostly women, receive 28% less than their mostly male counterparts in urban areas) and against two-tiered agreements that would see younger members get substantially less than their older co-workers.

We encourage BCGEU members to show solidarity with CUPW members by supporting CUPW workers on their picket lockout lines and by contacting their MP to demand that Canada Post negotiate an agreement that treats all workers equitably.