A new labour contract will give rural mail carriers job security and rights on par with other Canada Post employees, said Alice Boudreau, former president of the Organization of Rural Route Mail Carriers.
Boudreau, who was a rural courier for more than two decades, is now assisting the Canadian Union of Postal Workers as it prepares to add 6,000 new members from the rural carriers’ group. Boudreau said it has been a long fight for independent contractors to become recognized by Canada Post.
“It is what we wanted,” she said.
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“It’s a very good contract to go from nothing, no rights, no benefits, to this,” she said, citing the pension and other benefits extended to couriers in the new deal.
Under the proposed contract, to be presented to the union membership for ratification in August and September, the new Rural and Suburban Mail Couriers will receive a one-year wage increase of $225 for every hour worked in a day. That translates into $1,350 annually for a carrier working six hours a day.
The contract has an eight-year term, beginning Jan. 1, 2004, with the ability to open the deal every two years for wage adjustments.
RSMC will form a separate bargaining unit within CUPW.
Members cannot strike during the term of the contract, which Boudreau sees as improving job security. Previously, many carriers could only negotiate five-year contracts with Canada Post, she said.
Boudreau said the new deal could lead to more couriers to help handle larger routes.
Jim Hallick, a director with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities at Sturgis, expressed concern that the new deal would increase Canada Post’s costs.
He said the corporation has closed rural post offices in the past to save money.
“If this is going to add cost, then we have a concern,” he said. “If this becomes cost prohibitive, are we going to lose postal service?”
Under the contract, Canada Post will contribute $29 million in the first year and an additional $15 million in benefits to finance benefits, wages and working conditions in subsequent years.
André Ouellet, president and chief executive officer of Canada Post, said the agreement “reflects the needs of Canada Post, the CUPW and their members and our customers.”
