Mail service to return within days after back-to-work legislation passes for post workers

OTTAWA, Ont. – Mail service across the country is likely to resume by Tuesday after weary members of the House of Commons ended a 58-hour marathon filibuster by passing back-to-work legislation for locked-out Canada Post employees.

The Conservative benches erupted in cheers and back-slapping as the final vote was held late Saturday night, signalling the New Democrats had finally “folded their tent” on a decision the party’s deputy leader called “pre-ordained.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper emerged from the chamber Saturday night with Labour Minister Lisa Raitt to say his government had been victorious in the court of public opinion.

“We know what side the public was on and I think today members of Parliament on the other side finally started to get that message,” said Harper.

Calling the three days of round-the-clock debate in Parliament “a completely unnecessary delay,” Harper said he was “nevertheless pleased that soon Canadians will again have access to their postal service, particularly small businesses and charities.”

Meanwhile, Denis Lemelin, President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) told 680News the union is disappointed with the legislation, adding they didn’t feel they needed the government to step in.

“The government wanted to really impose a view around what are the rights of the worker in this country, and that’s really what’s happening here,” Lemelin said.

Lemelin contests the Harper government claim that the legislation was necessary, saying it attacks the rights of workers to freely negotiate the conditions they work under.

A special sitting of the Conservative-dominated Senate is expected to give the bill Royal Assent by late Sunday afternoon. It was initially unclear how soon the mail will start moving, although early suggestions indicated Tuesday as a target date.

The government had tabled the back-to-work bill on Monday after Canada Post locked out the union, claiming the rotating strikes that began on June 3 were costing the company tens of millions of dollars in lost business.

The legislation actually provides members of CUPW with slightly lower wages than the last offer from Canada post. It also restricts an arbitrator to choosing between the final offers – winner take all – of the two negotiating parties on other matters.

There had initially been hope the bill would spur the two sides to reach an agreement on their own after Air Canada and its union settled on a deal only hours after the Tories announced a back-to-work bill on their dispute earlier this month.

However, talks between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and management collapsed late Wednesday, and a final half-hour discussion Saturday morning did nothing to close the gap.

While the NDP could have used procedural and filibuster tactics to drag the debate well into next week, it’s likely their members saw the writing on the wall.

While they stood and applauded one another throughout the losing vote, many NDP MPs were clearly deflated by the outcome.

A tired looking Jack Layton declined to speak to reporters after the vote, leaving deputy leader Thomas Mulcair to deal with the aftermath of the defeat. The stand-in leader warned Canadians should take note of what transpired.

“It’s an indication of what’s to come for other public service workers who are unionized,” said Mulcair. “But it’s also a signal from the Conservatives to all employers, in a union setting or otherwise, that it’s an open bar. They can start going after the acquired rights of their workers.”

The House, which had been set to rise on Thursday for the summer recess, adjourned immediately after the vote.

A union spokesman said Thursday there are no plans for workers to defy the back-to-work law, since the penalties are so harsh. They range from $1,000 a day for rank-and-file members to $100,000 a day for the union.

“We’ve looked at what the penalties would be and I don’t think any of our members or officers of the organization could withstand the financial penalty,” said George Kuehnbaum, CUPW national secretary treasurer.

The treasurer also ensured that postal workers won’t take out their frustrations on Canadians.

“Will there be bitterness going back? Certainly not towards members of the public, but our members will certainly be bitter toward management,” he said.

The Crown corporation has said the main sticking point in the dispute was the union’s demand for staffing levels beyond the capability of Canada Post, adding that wages were not the key disagreement.

The union has been emphasizing working conditions and safety issues, as well as arguing that new employees would receive inferior wages and pensions.

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