CUPW Supports the ILWU Workers Right to Strike

OTTAWA, ON, July 7, 2023 /CNW/ - The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is urging the B.C. Maritime Employers Association to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair deal that meets the needs of the almost 7,500 port workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

Key issues remaining include fair wages, protections against automation, and the contracting out of maintenance work.

"These workers want wages that support their families and communities, and they want to know that their jobs are valued and secure," says Jan Simpson, CUPW National President. "CUPW is offering our full support and solidarity to the members of ILWU as their fight is a fight for all Canadian workers."

"Collective bargaining is how working people gain a voice at work and the power to shape their working lives," adds Simpson. "We know that the best deals are always negotiated in good faith at the bargaining table."

In 2011, CUPW workers were legislated back to work by the Harper government and again in 2018 by the Trudeau Government. The 2011 legislation was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the courts. However, the constitutionality of the 2018 back-to-work legislation is still being challenged in the courts.

"Collective bargaining and the right to strike are fundamental rights, central to our democracy, protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," says Simpson. "When governments impose back-to-work legislation, they undermine workers' capacity to negotiate free and fair collective agreements."

While many in corporate Canada are asking the federal government to intervene, CUPW is urging the government to respect workers' right to strike and rejects any calls for back-to-work legislation.

SOURCE Canadian Union of Postal Workers