Postal Workers' Safety Concerns During PandemicWorkers' Forum is posting below an article by Toni MacAfee, dated March 26, about the fight being waged by postal workers to affirm their rights and ensure their health and safety and that of the public as they continue to provide postal services during the pandemic. Jeff Callaghan, National Director for the Atlantic Region of CUPW, who submitted the article reports that postal workers' fight today is still very much alive, and has been throughout the pandemic, on issues such as the need for adequate protective equipment, the cleanliness of the workplace, social distancing, and the right to refuse unsafe work. ***
As many workers are now at home, our members along with healthcare workers, retail workers, delivery drivers, store clerks, gas attendants and many other workers providing important services continue to go to work through this pandemic. For workers at Canada Post, the main issues have been around personal protective equipment, proper cleaning in our plants, depots and at the retail offices; and the challenges of social distancing in plants and depots, as well it has been a concern while our folks are out delivering and serving customers at our retail counters. Our members have fought extremely hard to ensure that we have strong language in our collective agreements to protect our rights and to enforce that our health and safety is protected. Now, more than ever, our members and Locals are making sure those rights are enforced. Since the beginning of this crisis, CUPW members have invoked their right to refuse over the issues mentioned above, as well as other health and safety issues that were not being dealt with in their workplaces in a timely and appropriate manner. Being a health and safety representative in CUPW right now is a very challenging position but our members and our Locals have been very vocal in demanding that our members' rights and health and safety be protected. Local executive members are working day in and day out making demands to the boss to have the proper tools needed for members to do their jobs safely. We have seen a real disconnect between what management is saying at the top level and what is actually being implemented on the work floor. It would seem not all management are taking this pandemic as seriously as our membership, which often leaves our members with no choice but to refuse to work in unsafe working conditions. There have been many occasions that individual managers and supervisors have made the wrong call, and our Locals have challenged those issues on the work floors and, when appropriate, have escalated that information to the Region for discussion at the next level.
As details change every day in every province, our members continue to fight back against the employer to ensure health and safety is respected. We need Canada Post and the government to ensure that workers have the proper tools to do their jobs safely. We cannot have workers already in a high stress situation, worried about if when they arrive at work they will have gloves, hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes that are highly needed. Canada Post and the Government cannot use costs as an excuse not to protect our members. We need guarantees that our work places and equipment will be properly cleaned, that protections such as plexi-glass dividers are installed and gloves, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes are readily available every day. Otherwise, our members will have no choice but to refuse unsafe working conditions. When you see your postal worker, or any worker for that matter, working in and for the public during this crisis, remember to be kind, respectful and do all you can to ensure that their safety is protected. While we fight to ensure our safety, we are also fighting to protect yours. When all this chaos is over and the dust settles, every single one of us needs to remember which workers were there providing services to meet our needs during this time. We will also need to ensure that governments and employers show these workers the respect they deserve by demanding that they get better rights, wages, benefits and protections.
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
CUPW
Atlantic Region represents members in all four
Atlantic Provinces. This
includes all Letter Carriers, Mail Service
Couriers, inside Postal
Clerks and Dispatchers, Retail Clerks, Rural and
Suburban Carriers,
Technicians, and Mechanics that work at Canada
Post. CUPW also
represent other workers with other employers;
members that
provide delivery services for multiple private
companies that
subcontract from Canada Post; Communication
Officers and Transfer
Administrators at the Emergency Medical Care
that do all transfers,
call taking and despatching of ambulances in
Nova Scotia; 911
Communications Officers at Medacom in Prince
Edward Island; as well, we
represent
Cleaners with Bee Clean in Moncton, Saint John
NB and St. John's Newfoundland
postal plants. 
As
postal workers continue to provide services at
retail counters, sorting
your mail and parcels, delivering your products
to you, we would ask
that you respect the social distancing protocols
while we work. Often
times, people will gather as workers are sorting
into apartment mail
panels and community mailboxes. We would ask
that you please
wait until we are done our work and respect our
space to ensure
everyone's safety. At retail counters, we would
ask that you follow the
guidelines that have been set up in those
offices that call for limited
customers and social distancing.