Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank the committee for this invitation.
The Association of Postal Officials of Canada represents approximately 3,500 members throughout the country. These persons generally supervise the processing and delivery of mail.
We are here today because in 2013, we were told during a conference call that Canada Post had a profitability issue, that we were being given a five-year grace period, and that a solution had to be found. Shortly thereafter, a five-point action plan was released. We deplore the employer's lack of transparency in this process. Since we consider ourselves very close to management because of our oversight role over postal operations, the employer could have shown greater transparency in this matter.
We see that Mr. Deepak Chopra stated earlier today that we were part of the solution. Unfortunately, we think that Canada Post missed a good opportunity at the time of including us in its discussions, of sharing the fact that there was a problem with our pension plan, that we were going to hit the wall, and finally, of letting us take part in the search for solutions.
We received the report of the task force and we hope that the government will make the right decisions. If we really are part of the solution, we expect to be included. There is no doubt that all of the bargaining units at Canada Post do not all share the same vision. We can support certain measures, but needless to say, transparency is an important factor in the corporation's success.
Since the stage has been set, we hope that a recommendation in favour of transparency will allow the four Canada Post bargaining units to sit down with the employer to explore solutions, rather than letting the corporation impose its solutions on us.
Thank you for your attention.