Canada Post’s tentative agreement with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers doubles almost all paramedical benefits for rural and suburban mail carriers. The only exception are physiotherapy benefits, which remain unlimited.
Massage therapy benefits, for example, have moved from $200 to $400 per year, and hearing aid benefits have increased from $500 to $1,000 every five years.
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These change bring rural and suburban workers’ benefits up to par with those of their urban counterparts, which the union says is “one step towards equity.”
The two-year tentative agreement also includes a 1.5 per cent wage increase for rural and suburban mail carriers each year, with the first increase being retroactive to January 1, 2016.
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For urban mail carriers, changes include a one per cent wage increase in the first year, retroactive to February 1, 2016, and a 1.5 per cent increase in the second year.
The tentative agreement also includes a defined benefit pension plan for all new employees, and a 19-month pay equity process for rural and suburban mail carriers.
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