Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have agreed to undertake a pay equity review with regard to rural and suburban mail carriers. In the event that a wage gap is identified through the review, all payments will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016.
A memorandum of understanding was signed by the parties on Thursday, setting out that, within 30 days, they will establish a joint pay equity committee comprised of three representatives from the union and three representatives from the organization.
According to the union, each party will also appoint an independent pay equity consultant and agree on the appointment of an experienced arbitrator, who will be available to hear any differences arising during the process. An initial study will be completed within 12 months of the appointment of the consultants.
“The process negotiated in the memorandum of understanding will be completed 19 months from today,” said the CUPW in a press release yesterday. “There is much detailed work and comparisons that must be done. Our process will provide closure to the pay equity issue within a specified period of time and avoid decades of arguments in the courts. This process could become the model for all future pay equity complaints in Canada.”
Read: Canada Post and union reach tentative agreement
After months of negotiations, Canada Post and the CUPW reached a tentative agreement on Aug. 30, which will last two years, instead of the usual four. Bargaining will resume next year, during which the union will continue to protest solvency testing as an adequate measure of Canada Post’s ability to fund its defined benefit pension plans.