Arbitrator says Canada Post's Moncton mail restructuring 'fl

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Arbitrator says Canada Post's Moncton mail restructuring 'flawed'

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Mail carriers in Moncton are "dancing in the aisles" over an arbitrator's decision which compels Canada Post to hire a dozen more carriers.

We're ecstatic," says Louise Comtois, president of the Moncton local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

"We're very happy. It shows that everything we were saying about the problems in Moncton are true."

Late last year, Canada Post changed the way mail is delivered in Moncton, adding additional responsibilities and more stops to letter carrier routes. Since then, some customers have complained of mail taking many weeks to be delivered and of going for long periods with no mail at all, followed by finding an inordinately large bundle of mail in their mailboxes, suggesting that the mail is not being delivered at times.

After first blaming the late deliveries on bugs in the new delivery system, Canada Post then agreed the new routes were not working and vowed to hire temporary workers to help ensure timely mail delivery, in addition to calling out casual letter carriers.

Thursday's arbitration decision, according to Comtois, orders the corporation to "immediately" hire 12 full-time, permanent carriers. It also throws out the restructuring of letter carrier walks that led to the problems.

"Essentially, the arbitrator ruled that it all has to be redone," Comtois says.

Canada Post did not dispute the union's contention and the arbitrator's ruling that the restructuring was "fatally flawed," Comtois says.

Route restructuring is a long, complicated process, involving counting every piece of mail delivered by a carrier, measuring their routes, counting their steps and other considerations.

"So this is going to take some time."

The immediate 12 jobs are in consideration of the fact letter carriers in Moncton often now start work before dawn and work until after dark in order to hit all points of call and carry out their other newly added duties such as delivering parcels. Some carriers are working 14 hours per day and some mail is still not getting delivered, the union claims. Carriers are also getting hurt due to working in the dark and the extraordinarily long hours they are putting in, CUPW says.

Their employer says the changes were necessary to keep Canada Post competitive and postal rates reasonable in the face of declining mail volumes.

Canada Post officials were reviewing the decision yesterday and were not yet ready to comment on it.

If the union's interpretation of the ruling is correct, they expect the 12 new carriers to be hired within days, but agree the restructuring of the walks will likely take until next year.

The end result will be better service for Canada Post customers and safer as well as more reasonable work hours and work loads for the men and women directly tasked with delivering the mail, Comtois says.

Homeowners, business owners and Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Brian Murphy have been clamouring for better mail service since the quality of delivery declined abruptly late last year. Yesterday, Murphy credited the impending improvements to a united community putting pressure on the post office.

"We have ensured better service for the entire community now and into the future," Murphy said.

"We all know that the recent changes have had a negative impact on our mail service, and with our pressure, we should now see improvements to that service. By working together on legitimate concerns we can continue to hold these crown corporations and the government accountable for the things that matter to us, to our residents and businesses and to our quality of life."

[POSTMAN]

Interesting part 2,unless you read this one 1st that is.