OTTAWA, June 26, 2012 /CNW/ - The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) released a research paper today showing that the postal strike and lock-out in June 2011 did not have a negative impact on the economy, contrary to what the federal government and others claimed at the time.
"Last June, the Harper government argued it had to legislate CUPW members back-to-work to protect the economy," said CUPW National President Denis Lemelin. "But our paper reveals that the impact of the postal disruption on the economy was negligible, as measured by bankruptcy and employment data."
Not only that, the labour disruption only cost Canada Post about $58 million, not 'hundreds of millions' as claimed by Canada Post President Deepak Chopra," said Lemelin.
The paper also shows that while some businesses were negatively affected, there is no evidence the rotating strikes threatened their viability. It shows charities, non-profit organizations, seniors groups, and rural and remote organizations experienced some temporary negative impacts.
"The paper demonstrates that postal back-to-work legislation, which was passed one year ago today, was not enacted for economic reasons, " said Lemelin. "It was enacted because our government has it out for workers."
CUPW's research paper is called The economic impact of the Canadian postal strike and lockout: Permanent economic damage or temporary inconvenience? Its findings were presented earlier this month at the Rutgers University Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics in Brighton, United Kingdom.
For more information, please contact Aalya Ahmad, CUPW Communications, at 613-327-1177. To obtain a copy or the paper, go to: cupw.ca/RutgersPaper
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