Our new starting wage is $19 per hour.
Evidence of meeting #44 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was community.
Evidence of meeting #44 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was community.
2:50 p.m.
Director, Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
Our new starting wage is $19 per hour.
2:50 p.m.
Director, Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
I think that's what happened with the new collective agreement.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
2:50 p.m.
Director, Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
No. I'm allowed to look online to track a package and nothing else. Our dial-up is very slow.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON
Is it because of the lack of broadband in the remote communities that you serve?
2:50 p.m.
Director, Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
It is affected. It's not as quick as in the city.
I don't know how well your broadband works.
2:50 p.m.
Director, Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
Ours isn't that quick either and we're an hour from the city. Ours has some glitches.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON
I ask because great ideas have been floating around, and we need to be practical and realistic. Somebody looked at the integrated approach and said that the post office could be used in remote areas where schools don't have Internet and where teachers could do interactive classes. It could be used as a hub for conversation. It could be used as a place where small businesses can come and have their meetings. Is there any utilization of such nature in your area at the moment?
2:50 p.m.
Director, Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
There's none that I'm aware of, but I think there should be a pilot project for that. To be honest with you, I think it's an awesome idea.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON
You have the network. You're the last mile of delivery.
I'll ask you a question. If Canada Post is to lose labour through attrition, do you think management should go through the same process?
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON
Do you think that management, who are talking about sustainability, should take a cut in pay? They are highly paid at $300,000 to $650,000 per person.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
2:50 p.m.
As an Individual
It all depends on when you started. If you started within the last two or three years, you're making $19 per hour times 80 times 26. If you were lucky enough to start three or four years ago, you're making $26 times 80 times 26.
2:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski
To all our witnesses, thank you so much for being here today.
I do thank you for being so patient and sitting in the audience for the entire day's presentations. I'm very pleased that we had a chance to get you all to the table. Your testimony has been extremely helpful and will help us in our deliberations.
That being said, should there be additional information that you think would assist this committee in its deliberations, please contact our clerk directly. Caroline can give you her coordinates. Any information you send directly to our clerk will end up in our final report; I can assure you of that.
On a personal note, Mr. Opstad, I wish you good luck. I love to see initiative, and I certainly hope that you get a response from the minister. At the very least, if your program doesn't work, someone should just say it doesn't, but if it does work, and it can help Canada Post.... I love to see that initiative in employees. Thank you, personally, from me.
Thank you, again, and have safe travels.
The meeting is adjourned.