CUPW Scarborough Local Newsletter

Dear Mean Mike,

Sisters and Brothers,

The Executive of the Scarborough local has been doing station meetings among other things lately.  Something that came to light is the discussion of sick time and the keeping it, or the loosing it, and group #1 - PO4's.

  The thought process went some thing like this, "I'm a PO4, and I don't get sick too much like the letter carriers, I don't get injured as often either.  I don't have as many slip, trip and fall injuries as I'm inside.  So if it comes down to sick time being a strike issue, it isn't the end of the world to me to give up a few sick days in order not to go on strike".  Now I'm not saying that is everyones thought process, but there are certainly some who do think that way.

 There are a number of things wrong with this statement, but firstly - with Modern Post coming in, we are forecasting a loss of 75% of PO4 positions in the Scarborough Local.  So guess what ?  You former PO4, these are your options, you are now working down at South Central (SCLPP) on midnights, if you have extremely high seniority, you may get registration in a carrier depot, or you might stay on midnights in a letter carrier depot, or you are now a Group 2 letter carrier.  All of a sudden sick time becomes way more important to you.

So is sick time a strike issue ?  Well for some it won't be, but for me personally it is.  Why ?  Because a long time ago our brothers and sisters gave up raises and other benefits in order to protect us - all these years later.  So perhaps if we never had the sick time that they bargained for, for us, we may be making more dollars an hour today.  But, if you are anything like me, that extra amount per hour hasn't been saved up in a separate account for when I break my arm, or have to have an operation.  No, that's why I have sick time.  To cover me so I can recuperate from an injury or accident.  And I don't believe 7 personal days would be enough for a broken arm to heal.

Also, because I am getting older. (O.K. I'm admitting it) I don't bounce back the way I used to.  I take longer to heal.  Also, the average age of a letter carrier in Scarborough Local is 47 years old.  O.K., I'm not there yet, but I hope to be some day.  I will need my sick time along the way to insure that I do make it to 47.

There's a lot more that you will hear on this subject as we move closer to a strike vote, but give yourself some time to think about what's important to you, what in your opinion is a cause to fight for ?

For me, sick time is something to fight for, and if need be, strike over. 

In Solidarity,

Cathy Beth

Canada Post Board of Directors appoints Stewart Bacon as interim President and CEO
 
Marc Courtois, chairman of the Board of Canada Post, is pleased to announce the appointment of Stewart Bacon as interim President and Chief Executive officer of Canada Post. His appointment is effective July 15, after the departure of outgoing President and CEO, Moya Greene, who recently accepted the top position at Britain's Royal Mail.
 
"I'm very pleased to be able to make a new contribution to a company that means so much to me," says Mr. Bacon. "I was excited when I had the chance to contribute to the strategy we now have in place, so I'm just as excited to be able to contribute to moving those plans forward."
 
"Like other members of our senior team, I relied to a great degree on Stewart's advice and counsel over the years," says Ms. Greene. "I am so happy to now see this position placed in such capable hands."
Stewart Bacon retired from his most recent position as Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Canada Post in January of this year. Since then, he has served as Chairman of the Board of the company's subsidiary, Purolator. Before his retirement, Mr. Bacon spent 15 years with Canada Post in a series of progressive executive positions. Prior to his last appointment, he served as Senior Vice-President of, in order, Sales; Marketing and Sales; and Marketing, Sales and Service. Before joining Canada Post, Mr. Bacon held senior executive sales and marketing positions with Philips Electronics Ltd., leaving as Vice-President & General Manager, North America, Personal Computers Business Unit. He held similar positions at Comterm Inc. and IBM Canada.

Mr. Bacon attended Collège militaire royal de St-Jean and École Polytechnique de l'Université de Montréal, with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Mr. Bacon will work with Ms. Greene until her departure. He will serve as interim CEO until the appointment of a permanent CEO. To that end, the Board of Directors has begun a comprehensive search process and will be working closely in this regard with Canada Post's shareholder, the Government of Canada.

 PSAC - Public Service Alliance of Canada

The role of Canada Post in our communities is being eroded !  

 Subject: New Democrats vote against omnibus budget bill (C-9)


 Thank you for your previous email expressing concern over Bill C-9, the
Conservative budget implementation legislation.

 There was a strong public demand to split this omnibus Bill. However,
 the Harper government refused to remove the most provocative measures of
 C-9 so Parliament could deal with them separate from legitimate budget
 measures. Even in Committee, Conservative and Liberal MPs joined forces
 to oppose NDP amendments to split C-9.

 Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff failed both Canadians and Parliament by
 not following through on his bluster. The opposition parties had the
 advantage. Opportunities to stop C-9 were blown. With the G8 and G20
 leaders coming for the $1 billion extravaganza, there was no way the
 Prime Minister was going to force an early election.

11-06-10
UK government eyes €10.8bn Royal Mail privatisation

Picture: Royal Mail
The British government is considering a £9 billion (€10.8bn) full privatisation of Royal Mail to raise fresh capital for the struggling postal operator and to pay off its massive pensions deficit.
The new Postal Affairs Minister, Ed Davey, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that floating Royal Mail is an option since its future is at stake due to a "lethal combination" of declining letter volumes and the large pensions deficit. The Daily Telegraph estimated that a full (100%) sale of Royal Mail shares could raise £9 billion based on a December 2008 company valuation. The Post Office would remain state-owned, however, Davey said.
His comments that "all options are open" go beyond the official government plans that were announced in the Queen's Speech last month. The Conservative-Liberal coalition referred to "an injection of private capital", which was taken to mean the potential sale of up to 49% in Royal Mail.
The minister also said incoming CEO Moya Green would earn less than ex-CEO Adam Crozier who was paid over £2 million last year, stressed that there are no plans for large-scale post office closures, and warned that the company's pensions deficit may have reached £10 billion.
In response, the Communication Workers Union accused the Liberal Democrat minister of breaking with party policy and "giving in" to "the Thatcherite economics" of Conservative financial minister George Osbourne.
CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: "The proposals to split the post office network from Royal Mail as outlined by Mr Davey will threaten the viability of the network, will wreck the service and will wreck rural and deprived communities which rely on the Post Office. We all know that privatisation leads to higher prices as private companies maximise their own profit ahead of any sense of public service. We're saying to the government: don't privatise this successful public company."
 
The new British coalition government revived the idea of partly privatising Royal Mail just one year after the former Labour government was forced to drop the scheme due to massive political opposition. British media have speculated that financial investor CVC might renew its interest in the British postal operator. CVC reportedly made an initial bid of less than £2 billion for a 49% stake in Royal Mail last year before the Labour government dropped the part-privatisation plans due to a large-scale revolt by its own MPs as well as opposition from the union and postal workers.
Source:Daily Telegraph, CWU, CEP-Research

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