Postal workers in Nanaimo find their union engaged in contract negotiations in the week leading up to Labour Day. Labour Day falls on Monday, Sept. 1, and Shane Lorenz, Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 786 (Central Island East) president, says unions have done a lot to ease the burdens on workers' lives, pointing to the five-day work week, eight-hour work day and maternity leave. "We were the first union to win maternity leave, and now everyone in B.C. enjoys [it], and now even paternity leave … The union fights for safe working conditions, fair pay for men and women, because that was a big issue in the post office in yesteryear, where men were making more money than women even though they were doing the same work," he said. Negotiations with Canada Post have been taking place over recent weeks and Lorenz said that the union is fighting to keep what it has. He said Canada Post is "trying to basically reinvent the wheel" with a seven-day work week model and a move toward part-time, on-call workers, something the union is strongly against – it seeks full-time jobs that are predictable and reliable. "Basically what they want is workers to just come in when they're needed and that's not what we fought for the last 60 years," said Lorenz. "We want consistency. Yes, we are asking for a pay raise because, as you know, all workers have fallen behind from inflation over the last decade, but it's really about keeping the work structured." Consistency is also beneficial for casual workers too, according to the local president, who referenced comments from Canada Post's spokesperson that people love part-time jobs. "I think for people that do want a part-time job, they want to know when they're working, so they can structure it around whatever else is going on in their life,” said Lorenz. “To just be on call all the time doesn't really work for anybody." Canada Post workers hit the picket lines late last year, but were ordered back to work by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, something that "has been a source of frustration" for Lorenz and the union. "We all witnessed the flight attendants going on strike, defying the back-to-work order, and then getting a contract within a day," he said. "We were ordered back to work under Section 107, the same as the flight attendants, the port workers, and the rail workers, but the difference was, all three of them were given binding arbitration, and we weren't." He said the matter was dealt with by the Industrial Inquiry Commission, which gave recommendations to the government. The government didn't react to any of those recommendations, and the union is essentially still on strike, but chose to go back to work, although it has also banned overtime. With the postal workers negotiating, the Nanaimo local president stresses the importance of a unified front. "I think it's ultra important that everybody sticks together, and that's what a union is based upon, is solidarity, everybody sticks together, and everybody makes the decisions together," Lorenz said. In an Aug. 20 press release, Canada Post said it is reviewing the union's response and stated a commitment to reaching new collective agreements through the bargaining process. In honour of Labour Day, Nanaimo Duncan and District Labour Council will host a picnic Monday, Sept. 1 at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
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