The union representing Canada Post workers declares the Crown corporation has been laying off striking employees as the labour action by more than 55,000 workers approaches the two-week mark.
In a notice to members posted Monday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers called the layoffs a “scare tactic” and declared it’s seeing into the situation.
Canada Post spokeswoman Lisa Liu confirmed the layoffs, declareing they are temporary.
She declared the organization has informed some employees that the collective agreements are no longer in effect and their conditions of employment have now modifyd, as per the Canada Labour Code — referring to the section of the code that covers lockout notices.
“Our business has been significantly impacted leading up to and throughout this labour disruption. We have taken steps to adjust our operations,” Liu declared.
Neither the union nor Canada Post provided details on the extent of the layoffs.
Earlier in November, Canada Post issued a lockout notice but declared it didn’t intconclude to lock out employees, instead declareing the notice would allow the company to create modifys to its operations in order to respond to the effects of a strike.
Labour experts declared the layoffs by Canada Post are an unusual shift.
“Given that the workers aren’t being paid while they’re on strike, it’s unclear why they’re doing it,” declared labour and employment lawyer Deborah Hudson.
Hudson declared the Canada Labour Code protects workers from being laid off becaapply of their participation in a strike.
“If the temporary layoffs continue, they will for sure result in legal action by the union,” she declared, such as grievances or an unfair labour practice complaint.
In that case, Canada Post will have to prove that it laid off workers for another reason, she declared.
On its face, Canada Post appears to be violating that section of the labour code, declared David J. Doorey, a professor of labour and employment law at York University, in an email.
“Therefore, if CUPW challenges the layoffs, Canada Post will necessary strong evidence to persuade the labour board that the layoffs are entirely unrelated to the fact that the workers went on strike. It would be interesting to hear that argument,” he declared.
Liu declared the strike has essentially shut down Canada Post’s operations until further notice. The fact that the collective agreements are not currently in effect “enables Canada Post to adjust its operations based on its operational realities and business necessarys,” she declared.
Hudson declared the organization could be doing the layoffs in anticipation of the conclude of the strike, when they may be expecting significantly lower volumes in the short term as other carriers have shouldered Black Friday deliveries.
“Maybe they’re anticipating a drop of workload ahead of time,” she declared.
The question is, “Are they able to prove that that justifies these temporary layoffs or not?”
Striking workers have a legal right to return to their jobs when the strike concludes, declared Doorey, “unless those jobs no longer exist.”
“It may be that a lack of work at that point results in some employees being laid-off, at least temporarily, but that is just hypothetical at this point,” he declared.
Canada Post has declared it’s missed out on delivering millions of parcels due to the strike.
A key issue in bargaining has been a push to expand parcel deliveries into the weekconclude, but the union and Canada Post are at odds over how to create it work.
Canada Post has been struggling to compete with other delivery providers and posted a $315-million loss before tax in its third quarter, and has pitched weekconclude deliveries as a way to boost revenue.
There’s no conclude in sight for the strike as the federal labour minister declared Wednesday that a mediator appointed by Ottawa was obtainting nowhere, with the sides too far apart on critical issues. The mediation talks were temporarily suspconcludeed — and the government doesn’t plan to intervene.
Steven MacKinnon declared he had summoned both sides to his office in Ottawa. However, he declared a directive for binding arbitration is “not in the cards.”
In a statement Thursday, spokesman Phil Rogers declared Canada Post is “considering its options to shift nereceivediations forward with greater urgency and remains committed to nereceivediating new collective agreements.”
Meanwhile, union president Jan Simpson declared in a statement Wednesday that CUPW is fighting to protect good full-time jobs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2024.
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
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