Canadian government appoints arbitrator for postal union dispute

Canada’s labour minister, Lisa Raitt, has appointed a new arbitrator to untangle the long-running collective bargaining dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Retired labour lawyer Guy Dufort has been appointed in place of the former Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, the Honourable Justice Coulter Osbourne, who resigned as arbitrator in November under pressure from the union.

The Canadian government said it had consulted with both sides of the dispute before appointing Mr Dufort.

And, with a key criticism from the CUPW about Justice Osbourne that he couldn’t speak French, the government pointed out that its latest appointment was “fully bilingual”, as well as having experience in labour relations.

Dufort spent much of his career as a partner at the Heenan Blaikie law firm, and was an active member of the Progressive Conservative Party, standing as a Conservative candidate for Parliament in two elections since the year 2000.

“Mr Dufort’s law career spans over 45 years, during which he has specialised in labour and human rights, and civil litigation,” said Minister Raitt

“He has also worked as an arbitrator and mediator dealing with employment matters and labour rights for the past three years. I urge both parties to cooperate fully with him.”

Dispute

The current dispute between Canada Post and CUPW stems from talks over a new four-year labour contract which began as far back as October 2010. The two sides have fundamental differences of opinion over the deal, with the union believing that workers should be rewarded for 16 consecutive years of profitability at Canada Post, while the Corporation believes it needs a more flexible, lower-cost workforce to avoid the kind of losses seen in postal services in the rest of the world, including south of the border in the US.

The contract, for 48,000 urban and suburban-based members of the union, was never agreed, and culminated in strikes and a national lockout of Canada Post facilities through most of the month of June 2011.

The strike required emergency legislation from Canada’s Parliament to break, but the back-to-work bill only set basic details in a new work contract such as salary increases, leaving the details of a contract to be decided by an arbitrator.

An arbitrator would look at the proposals of both sides before picking which option to adopt as the final labour contract. Justice Osbourne was appointed as arbitrator in July, with the union claiming he was too favourable to Canada Post.

CUPW has filed various lawsuits against the process, with its opposition to Justice Osbourne’s appointment leading to his resignation in November.

Even after his resignation, the union continued its legal action leading to a hypothetical victory in January that “would have” cancelled the appointment had Justice Osbourne not already resigned.

Following Mr Dufort’s appointment, CUPW said it wanted a mediator appointed, not an arbitrator, and for negotiated settlement to decide the contract.

Denis Lemelin, the national president and chief negotiator at CUPW, said: “The problem with Final Offer Selection Arbitration is that it creates a ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’ and reinforces tensions between employers and employees.

“CUPW still believes that negotiations are the best way to find workable solutions that meet the needs of members, the public and Canada Post.”