‘They are bullying us,’ says Canada Post worker

Conrad Gryba says he should be OK financially if the strike by his union against Canada Post goes on for some time.

Conrad Gryba says he should be OK financially if the strike by his union against Canada Post goes on for some time.

“I have lots of support,” the 20-year-old said Monday afternoon while walking the picket line in front of the Canada Post office at the top of Two Mile Hill.

Gryba is the only Whitehorse member of the Union of Postal Communications Employees (UPCE) which represents 2,140 clerical and administrative staff across the country and is an affiliate of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

PSAC members joined Gryba on the picket line Monday morning and afternoon as a show of support, said Laurie Butterworth, the local PSAC president.

“I am not alone,” said Gryba, who’s been employed with the corporation since last January as an administrative clerk.

Staff with the union and Canada Post staff agree the primary unresolved issue revolves around sick leave and the Crown corporation’s desire to replace it with a new short-term disability package.

Union headquarters has called the proposal miserly. Management at Canada Post insist it’s a step up, and affords protection for even the newest of employees who haven’t had time to build up sick leave.

For Gryba, the proposal is substandard, and represents a backdoor attempt by Canada Post to set a precedent for future collective agreements with its larger unions.

A future with Canada Post can present promising employment opportunities, said Gryba, suggesting he doesn’t wasn’t to lose any ground now in the benefits package.

“It is only fair to come out here and stand up for myself and others because down the road, it is going to pay off for myself, and others.”

Currently, UPCE members earn 1 1/4 sick days a month. They can bank them for the entire length of their employment with Canada Post.

The Crown corporation is proposing to replace the existing sick leave program with a new short-term disability program which restructures the pay schedule for sick days.

Canada Post spokesman John Caines pointed out this morning the new proposal is designed to “protect all employees, no matter how long they worked here.”

Caines said the proposal will eventually result in savings for the corporation, though he couldn’t say how quickly or how much will be saved.

In an information brochure to its membership, however, the union describes the proposal as a huge leap backwards from the existing package, which could have employees fighting with a private insurance company for benefits after a certain period.

“They are bullying us,” Gryba said. “If you can get the smallest union, then you can get everybody.

“If we allow this short-term disability program, then Canada Post will use this in the next series of negotiations.”

The Canada Post spokesman countered that altogether, the next sick leave package, the wage hike and new job security provision makes this proposal a shining star in times of serious economic turmoil.

The corporation provided the union with its final offer on Sunday, but has yet to hear back, Caines said.

The proposal also includes a 10.5 per cent pay increase over the life of the four-year contract. The existing contract expired last Aug. 31.

The parties started negotiations back in June, and the union provided Canada Post with its 72-hour strike notice last Friday.

There was no picket line today; PSAC said there is no hard and fast picketing schedule.

There is also one UPCE member in Yellowknife. Ontario is the jurisdiction with the most UPCE members, with 1,224 employees.

Canada Post maintains mail service will not be affected, though the union insists that over time, it certainly will be.