Conservatives act to get mail moving

MARK KENNEDY AND JORDAN PRESS
Postmedia News

The Harper government introduced back-to-work-legislation Monday to end the Canada Post labour dispute and warned it is prepared to limit debate in Parliament to get the bill passed into law as early as this week.

Opposition parties immediately blasted the governing Tories for carrying through with their threat to table the bill. They say the government is interfering in the labour negotiations between Canada Post and its workers and should give time for the talks to play out.

The NDP and Liberals said they expect extensive debate in the Commons over the bill and aren’t in a rush for it to come to a vote — even if the House is scheduled to rise for its summer break on Thursday.

But federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt indicated the government is in no mood for a prolonged debate.

“I believe that we’re going to put our best efforts in terms of whatever process we can use in order to get backto-work legislation through before the House rises,” she told reporters minutes after tabling the bill.

“Canadians want certainty. They want to know that their mail’s going to continue to be delivered or it starts to be delivered once again and that’s what we’re here for.”

Raitt said she is hopeful that Canada Post and the union reach a deal on their own before the law is passed. The bill will likely put pressure on one, or both sides to do just that.

Under the legislation, Canada Post would have to end its lockout and employees would be required to perform their normal work routine.

An arbitrator would be appointed by the federal government and both sides in the dispute would put forward their best proposal in the contract dispute on the table.

The arbitrator would then choose one of the two positions — with no compromise — and it would become the binding decision that both parties have to accept.

Raitt said the postal negotiations have gone on a long time without resolution, and the bill is an example of “the danger of asking Parliament to settle your dispute.”

“I am wide open to having meetings to help facilitate them finding their own process. Our cards are on the table. They understand fully what the process is we envisioned for them in order to bring closure to this issue. And if they don’t like the process, then they should work together to find their own.”

The two sides in the dispute met Monday afternoon to continue contract talks. More meetings are scheduled for Tuesday morning, said Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton, but renewed talks are moving slowly.

“We’re not making a great deal of progress on the major issues,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said Canada Post continues to believe there is time to negotiate a new contract.

The wage increases set out in the legislation — 1.75 per cent this year, 1.5 per cent next year, and two per cent in the 2013 and 2014 — is lower than the 1.9 per cent this year and next year and the two per cent in 2013 that Canada Post had offered the union.

Canada Post locked out 50,000 employees and suspended operations across the country last Tuesday following 12 days of rotating strikes. The Crown corporation blamed the workers’ two weeks of rotating strikes for estimated losses of $100 million.

Union negotiators have asked for a wage bump of 3.3 per cent in the first year, followed by 2.75 per cent in the subsequent years of a four-year contract.