Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) are the big winners in the new tentative agreement reached by Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
Under the negotiated settlement, RSMCs will now become employees of Canada Post. Previously, RSMCs were known as Rural Route and Suburban Service Couriers and worked on a contract basis. This means that 6,000 RMSCs will now become unionized workers under the new deal.
An e-mail bulletin from CUPW on July 27 announcing the package described the deal as a ÔÇ£tentative collective agreementÔÇØ with Canada Post which would provide full job security for all regular employees. The agreement is for eight years with wages and benefits established for the first two years. For future years, improvements to wages and benefits will be negotiated by Canada Post and CUPW. If both sides fail to come to an agreement, an independent arbitrator will decide.
“I want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding throughout the process and for their continued support. We look forward to continuing to provide Canadians with the quality postal service they deserve,” said Andr├® Ouellet, president and chief executive officer of Canada Post, in a news release issued July 27.
On July 23, CUPW and Canada Post announced the two sides had agreed on a framework for a settlement and agreed to a 72-hour extension of the strike deadline in order to finalize details.
Since CUPW announced they were delaying their strike action originally planned for July 18 at 12:01 a.m., the union and Canada Post had been in constant talks to come to a new agreement.
CUPW represents 48,000 members in rural and urban communities including full-time, part-time and temporary postal workers. The last time CUPW went on strike was in 1997.