Canada Post: Encyclopedia II - Canada Post - Labour troubles

Canada Post - Labour troubles

Canada Post has a history of troubled labour relations with its trade unions, particularly the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the Letter Carrier's Union of Canada (which merged with CUPW in 1989) culminating in periodic strike action which has brought mail service in Canada to a halt. There have been at least 19 strikes and walkouts between 1965 and 2005 including several wildcat strikes. A number of these strikes have seen the corporation employ strike breakers and most, since the 1970s, have resulted in back-to-work legislation being passed by the Canadian parliament.

Canada Post was also the setting for one of the most controversial labour rulings of recent years. After several prosecutions for theft at Mississauga's Gateway Postal Plant, the union won a ruling from a labour board that the workers involved could not be dismissed as the length of the investigation exceeded the ten-day limit in the collective agreement under which any allegation of misconduct had to be brought to the attention of the worker. Although the ruling was reversed on appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that although the decision may have been incorrect, it was not so totally without merit that the labour board's decision should be overturned. The court noted the language was in the collective agreement to keep supervisors from holding infractions over the head of a worker indefinitely.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Labour troubles", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki