Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Act (S.C. 2018, c. 25)

• Published date: 12 March 2019
• Section: Part III - Acts of Parliament
• Gazette Issue: 2 - [object Object]

S.C. 2018, c. 25

Assented to 2018-11-26

An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of postal services

SUMMARY

This enactment provides for the resumption and continuation of postal services and imposes a mediation process to resolve matters remaining in dispute between the parties. It also empowers the mediator-arbitrator to impose an arbitration process to resolve matters that cannot be resolved through mediation.

Preamble

Whereas the Canada Post Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers were parties to two collective agreements, one that expired on December 31, 2017 and one that expired on January 31, 2018;

Whereas the parties have engaged, since November 2017, in collective bargaining to reach new collective agreements;

Whereas the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Public Works and Government Services met with the parties on a number of occasions to encourage them to reach new collective agreements;

Whereas the Minister of Labour appointed conciliation officers in July 2018 to assist the parties in their negotiations and the conciliation period expired without the parties having entered into new collective agreements;

Whereas the Minister of Labour appointed mediators in September 2018 to further assist the parties in the negotiation of a settlement of their differences for the purpose of renewing their collective agreements;

Whereas work stoppages commenced on October 22, 2018;

Whereas the Minister of Labour appointed a special mediator on October 24, 2018, and then re-appointed the special mediator on November 7, 2018, to assist the parties in negotiating new collective agreements and in ending the work stoppages, and in each case the appointment ended without the parties having entered into new collective agreements and without the work stoppages having ended;

Whereas the work stoppages are disrupting the delivery of mail and parcels across Canada;

Whereas the work stoppages are having a significant adverse impact on Canadian workers, consumers and businesses as well as on those Canadians who rely on postal services;

Whereas the Minister of Labour recognizes the importance of effective collective bargaining practices and the need for stable industrial relations for employees, unions and employers in the postal services sector;

And whereas, having regard to the negative impact of the work stoppages, the public interest requires an exceptional solution to address the matters in dispute so that new collective agreements may be concluded;

Now therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

  collective agreement

  collective agreement means the collective agreement between the employer and the union that expired on December 31, 2017 or the collective agreement between the employer and the union that expired on January 31, 2018. (convention collective)

  employee

  employee means a person who is employed by the employer and bound by a collective agreement. (employé)

  employer

  employer means the Canada Post Corporation. (employeur)

  mediator-arbitrator

  mediator-arbitrator means the mediator-arbitrator appointed under subsection 8(2). (médiateur-arbitre)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Labour. (ministre)

  union

  union means the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, representing the Urban Postal Operations Unit or the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers Unit. (syndicat)

• Marginal note:Words and expressions

  (2) Unless otherwise provided, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in Part I of the Canada Labour Code.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (3) For the purposes of this Act, the union is deemed to be a person.

Postal Services

Marginal note:Resumption or continuation of postal services

3 On the coming into force of this Act,

• (a) the employer must resume without delay, or continue, as the case may be, postal services; and

• (b) every employee must, when so required, resume without delay, or continue, as the case may be, the duties of their employment.

Marginal note:Prohibitions

4 It is prohibited for the employer and for any of its officers and representatives to

• (a) in any manner impede any employee from complying with paragraph 3(b); or

• (b) discharge or in any other manner discipline, or authorize or direct the discharge or discipline of, any employee by reason of the employee having been on strike before the coming into force of this Act.

Marginal note:Obligations

5 The union and each of its officers and representatives must

• (a) without delay on the coming into force of this Act, give notice to the employees that, by reason of that coming into force, postal services are to be resumed or continued, as the case may be, and that the employees, when so required, are to resume...