Canada Post misleads employees and the public about vote on last offer

    OTTAWA, Dec. 16 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada Post is misleading employees and
the public about a ratification vote on the corporation's last offer,
according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). The union maintains
that Canada Post made false allegations about the vote in a message posted to
employees on the corporation's website yesterday.
    "Canada Post's complaint is completely without merit and nothing but a
shameful abuse of the taxpayer-funded processes of the Canada Industrial
Relations Board," says John Gordon, National President of PSAC, representing
the 2,100 administrative and technical employees who have been on strike for
29 days. "More than two out of every three workers who voted rejected the
employer's last offer. Our members came out in droves to send their employer a
message that they won't back down until their sick leave and family-related
leave is protected."
    One of the key issues that PSAC members chose to strike over is a plan
that Canada Post is proposing that would strip workers of their ability to
accumulate sick days and then put them at the mercy of a private insurance
company when they are ill and need to access short-term disability benefits.
    Rejection of the employer's latest offer by the membership strengthens
the union's mandate to negotiate a collective agreement that will better
protect the workers' sick leave and family-related leave, according to PSAC.
    "Canada Post insisted that we take their last offer to our membership for
a vote, and we did," says Gordon. "Our members voted 'no' and stood strong in
face of Canada Post's bullying - even as temperatures have dropped to minus 30
in some parts of the country. Our members are determined to fight for basic
workplace rights such as sick leave. How long will Canada Post leave them out
in the cold?"
    PSAC maintains that Canada Post has chosen to bully its employees and
question the legitimacy of the vote, in an effort to avoid taking the real
action necessary to resolve the strike.
    "Canada Post is simply trying to wage its public relations war on the
backs of Canadian tax payers with its bogus allegations," says Gordon. "It's
time for them to stop squandering public dollars in court and start bargaining
in good faith. Their employees' health is depending on it."

For further information: Ariel Troster, PSAC Communications, (613)
560-4273, [phone] (cell)