Mail could resume in days after back-to-work bill passes

After a marathon around the clock filibuster that lasted more than 58 hours, weary members of the House of Commons passed legislation on Saturday night ordering thousands of locked-out Canada Post employees back to work.

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

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

But talks between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and management collapsed late Wednesday.

Union members blamed the bill for removing Canada Post’s will to negotiate, saying it unfairly sided with them.

Post office officials met with the union on Saturday morning, but failed to resolve the gulf between them.

Hours later the Opposition New Democrats abandoned their marathon filibuster that tied the House of Commons in knots for nearly three days.

The NDP strongly attacked the legislation, criticizing the inclusion of wage provisions and a system that now leaves a deal in the fate of an arbitrator who will pick which side has the better final offer.

But the Conservatives had said the law was necessary because the lockout was becoming a drain on the economy.

MPs were supposed to go home for their summer break on Thursday but needed to pass the bill before doing so.

The bill will now proceed to the Senate.

A union spokesman said Thursday there are no plans for workers to defy the back-to-work law, since the penalties are so punitive. 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.

He said 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.

“It’s a winner-take-all and when you have parties that have a history and will have for the future, a winner-take-all doesn’t bode well for labour relations.”

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.