OTTAWA - The 2,800 members of the Union of Postal Communications Employees of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) at Canada Post Corporation have voted 93% in favour of their tentative agreement after a two-week ratification vote.

The new tentative agreement will provide for annual increases of 2.8%, 3% and 3% for each of the three years of the collective agreement, retroactive to October 31, 2001. It also provides for a cost of living allowance for each of these years.

Canada Post workers will obtain full job security as of February 22, 2002, the ratification date of the tentative agreement. The collective agreement also includes a newly-established Service Expansion and Innovation Committee, funded by Canada Post, which will reduce the amount of contracting-out and increase the size of the bargaining unit. The various health and drug insurance plan benefits will be upgraded to match the coverage received by other Canada Post employees.

"The new agreement reached with Canada Post management after five months of negotiations contains major improvements to the non-monetary and monetary clauses, but more importantly it provides a strict framework for implementation of the new job classification plan," explained Luc Guevremont, president of the PSAC’s Union of Postal Communications Employees (UPCE). "A joint committee will be responsible for overseeing implementation of this plan." 

The PSAC-UPCE bargaining team recommended acceptance of the tentative agreement to their members.

The new collective agreement will expire October 30, 2004.

The PSAC members started rotating strike action on January 16 which ended January 23, with the conclusion of a tentative agreement. These workers provide customer service and perform administrative, financial, technical and professional duties.

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Information : Luc Guevremont, National President UPCE - (613) 560-4342

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