​The State is attacking workers, say GTA Canada Post workers at protest

Yesterday, Canada Post workers from across the GTA protested outside the Toronto office of Justin Trudeau's former right-hand woman, Chrystia Freeland. The workers demonstrated their outrage at the federal government's decision to force them back to work. With the threat of heavy fines if they fail to comply with the law, the postal workers are showing which side the federal government is really on.

Amidst defiant chants of solidarity and the clattering of cars honking in support, The North Star was able to interview Scarborough CUPW local president Learie Charles;

“I am here today to bring the important message to all workers who are gathered here of the necessity for us to unite in solidarity in the face of these attacks which are going on from the state against us,” Charles explains. “It is not merely Canada Post which is attacking postal workers, but the entire state.”

After just over a month of pickets, and pledging that Ottawa was “not looking at any other solution other than negotiation,” Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon invoked Section 107 of the Canadian Labour Code on Friday, effectively ending the nationwide Canada Post strike.

Toronto CUPW local president Mark Lubinski, in the call-out for the rally, referred to the decision as “a violation of workers' rights and a move that threatens Canadian democracy.”

The Trudeau Liberals, backed by the New Democrats, have had no issue ending high-profile nationwide strikes with back-to-work legislation. Charles elaborates, “We the postal workers got this [back-to-work order], and the port workers in Quebec, Montreal and BC got one too.” 

In addition to forcing longshoremen back to work in November, the Federal Government also forced CN and CK rail workers back to work in August. Notably, these three high-profile back-to-work orders all took place in the logistics and shipping industry.

Charles continues, “There is a united effort by the rich and powerful to crush the postal workers, as well as other workers who are standing up in the federal sector.”

While Canada Post workers have promoted their “Delivering Community Power” campaign as a way to modernize Canada Post as a public service, Canada Post seems to have prioritized enriching its senior staff and selling off assets. When asked about the difficulties in bargaining with Canada Post, Charles states, “it's a big business agenda. It is not a service agenda.”

Finally, the nature of Canadian labour laws, and who they are meant to protect is not lost on Charles, who articulates the contradictory nature of labour “rights”;

“If a right is to mean something—the right to assemble, the right to negotiate, and the right to strike—it further extends to your right to have grievances and negotiations. But to shut it down in the manner [the Government] has done, it means that they're saying that this right is a convenience as long as it does not interfere with their [business] processes.”

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