Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act

An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of postal services Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: Short title This Act may be cited as the Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act. Definitions The following definitions apply in this Act. arbitrator means the arbitrator appointed under section 8. (arbitre) collective agreement means the collective agreement between the employer and the union that expired on January 31, 2011. (convention collective) employee means a person employed by the employer and bound by the collective agreement. (employé) employer means the Canada Post Corporation. (employeur) Minister means the Minister of Labour. (ministre) union means the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. (syndicat) Words and expressions Unless otherwise provided, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in Part I of the Canada Labour Code. Resumption or continuation of postal services On the coming into force of this Act, the employer must resume without delay, or continue, as the case may be, postal services; and every employee must, when so required, resume without delay, or continue, as the case may be, the duties of the employee’s employment. Prohibitions It is prohibited for the employer and for any officer or representative of the employer to in any manner impede any employee from complying with paragraph 3(b); or 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. Obligations The union and each officer and represent­ative of the union must 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 without delay, or continue, as the case may be, the duties of their employment; take all reasonable steps to ensure that employees comply with paragraph 3(b); and refrain from any conduct that may encourage employees not to comply with paragraph 3(b). Extension of collective agreement The term of the collective agreement is extended to include the period beginning on February 1, 2011 and ending on the day on which a new collective agreement between the employer and the union comes into effect. Collective agreement binding for extended term Despite anything in the collective agreement or in Part I of the Canada Labour Code, the collective agreement, as extended by subsection (1), is effective and binding on the parties to it for the period for which it is extended. However, that Part applies in respect of the collective agreement, as extended, as if that period were the term of the collective agreement. Strikes and lockouts prohibited During the term of the collective agreement, as extended by subsection 6(1), it is prohibited for the employer and for any officer or representative of the employer to declare or cause a lockout against the union; for the union and for any officer or representative of the union to declare or authorize a strike against the employer; and for an employee to participate in a strike against the employer. Appointment of arbitrator The Minister must appoint as arbitrator for final offer selection a person that the Minister considers appropriate. Powers and duties The arbitrator has, with any modifications that the circumstances require, all the powers and duties of an arbitrator under paragraphs 60(1)(a), (a.2), (a.3) and (a.4) and section 61 of the Canada Labour Code. Obligation to provide final offer Within the time and in the manner that the arbitrator may specify, the employer and the union must each submit to the arbitrator a list of the matters on which the employer and the union were in agreement as of a date specified by the arbitrator, other than salaries and the term of the new collective agreement, and proposed contractual language that would give effect to those matters; a list of the matters remaining in dispute on that date, other than salaries and the term of the new collective agreement; and a final offer in respect of the matters referred to in paragraph (b). Contractual language The final offer must be submitted with proposed contractual language that can be incorporated into the new collective agreement. Arbitrator’s duties Subject to section 13, within 90 days after being appointed, or within any longer period that may be specified by the Minister, the arbitrator must determine the matters on which the employer and the union were in agreement as of the date specified for the purposes of paragraph 10(1)(a); determine the matters remaining in dispute on that date; select, in order to resolve the matters remaining in dispute, either the final offer submitted by the employer or the final offer submitted by the union; and make a decision in respect of the resolution of the matters referred to in this subsection and forward a copy of the decision to the Minister, the employer and the union. Guiding principle In making the selection of a final offer, the arbitrator is to be guided by the need for terms and conditions of employment that are consistent with those in comparable postal industries and that will provide the necessary degree of flexibility to ensure the short- and long-term economic viability and competitiveness of the Canada Post Corporation, maintain the health and safety of its workers and ensure the sustainability of its pension plan, taking into account that the solvency ratio of the pension plan must not decline as a direct result of the new collective agreement; and that the Canada Post Corporation must, without recourse to undue increases in postal rates, operate efficiently, improve productivity and meet acceptable standards of service. If no final offer submitted If either the employer or the union fails to provide the arbitrator with a final offer in accordance with paragraph 10(1)(c), the arbitrator must select the final offer provided by the other party. The arbitrator’s decision must be drafted in a manner that constitutes a new collective agreement between the employer and the union and, to the extent that it is possible, incorporate the contractual language that is referred to in paragraph 10(1)(a) and that is in the final offer selected by the arbitrator. Proceedings prohibited No order is to be made, no process is to be entered into and no proceeding is to be taken in court to question the appointment of the arbitrator; or to review, prohibit or restrain any proceeding or decision of the arbitrator. New collective agreement not precluded Subject to subsections (2) and (3), nothing in this Act precludes the employer and the union from entering into a new collective agreement at any time before the arbitrator makes a decision and, if they do so, the arbitrator’s duties under this Act cease as of the day on which the new collective agreement is entered into. Term If the term of the new collective agreement is not identical to the term provided for in subsection 14(1), the term of the new collective agreement is deemed to be as provided for in that subsection. Salaries If a salary calculated in accordance with or determined under the new collective agreement is not identical to the result of the increases referred to in section 15, the new collective agreement is deemed to provide for the salary being increased as provided for in that section. New collective agreement Subject to section 15 and despite anything in Part I of the Canada Labour Code, the arbitrator’s decision constitutes a new collective agreement between the employer and the union that is effective beginning on the day on which it is made and that binds the parties until January 31, 2015. However, that Part applies in respect of the new collective agreement as if it had been entered into under that Part. Coming into effect of provisions The new collective agreement may provide that any of its provisions are effective and binding on a day that is before or after the day on which the new collective agreement becomes effective and binding. The new collective agreement is deemed to provide for the following increases to salaries: effective February 1, 2011, salaries in effect as of January 31, 2011 are increased by 1.75%; effective February 1, 2012, salaries in effect as of January 31, 2012 are increased by 1.5%; effective February 1, 2013, salaries in effect as of January 31, 2013 are increased by 2%; and effective February 1, 2014, salaries in effect as of January 31, 2014 are increased by 2%. Amendments Nothing in this Act is to be construed so as to limit or restrict the rights of the parties to agree to amend any provision of the new collective agreement, other than its term as provided for in subsection 14(1) or the salary increases referred to in section 15, and to give effect to the amendment. Costs All costs incurred by Her Majesty in right of Canada relating to the appointment of the arbitrator and the performance of the arbitrator’s duties under this Act are debts due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such, in equal parts from the employer and the union, in any court of competent jurisdiction. Individuals An individual who contravenes any provision of this Act is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable, for each day or part of a day during which the offence continues, to a fine of not more than $50,000 if the individual was acting in the capacity of an officer or representative of the employer or the union when the offence was committed; or not more than $1,000 in any other case. Employer or union If the employer or the union contravenes any provision of this Act, it is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable, for each day or part of a day during which the offence continues, to a fine of not more than $100,000. No imprisonment Despite subsection 787(2) of the Criminal Code, no term of imprisonment is to be imposed in default of payment of a fine that is imposed under section 18. Recovery of fines If a person is convicted of an offence under section 18 and the fine that is imposed is not paid when required, the prosecutor may, by filing the conviction, enter as a judgment the amount of the fine and costs, if any, in a superior court of the province in which the trial was held, and the judgment is enforceable against the person in the same manner as if it were a judgment rendered against the person in that court in civil proceedings. Presumption For the purposes of this Act, the union is deemed to be a person. Coming into force This Act comes into force on the expiry of the twenty-fourth hour after the time at which it is assented to. [Note: Act in force June 27, 2011.]