Postal workers dispute defines our new Parliament
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07/07/ 2011 |
Looking back on the Harper government’s back-to-work legislation and the NDP’s filibuster one can’t help but see the debate as a defining moment for our new Parliament.
On one side of the house we have the Conservative government awarding Canada Post for locking out its workers by creating a biased, pro-corporate mechanism to impose a new contract on the members of CUPW. The conservatives by imposing a final offer selection arbitration process and then hand picking the arbitrator have all but guaranteed that Canada Post gets its way. But to top it off the Conservatives also legislated wage rates for the workers that were lower than Canada Post had been offering. The Conservatives only rational for punishing postal workers in this fashion was that the Liberals did the same thing in 1997.
On the other side of the House we have a new youthful official opposition NDP taking a strong principled stand in defense of free collective bargaining rights. The NDP filibustered to delay the passing of the back-to-work legislation while at the same time proposing amendments that could have resolved the dispute. In fact sources say that both sides, Canada Post and the union, came close to two separate deals that would have ended the filibuster and the lock out until the Conservative government stepped in to ensure that the only thing ending the lockout was their own draconian back-to-work legislation.
So we have a new Parliament. On one side a government ready to back its corporate friends and punish workers for exercising their constitutional rights. On the other side we have an Official Opposition with a new energized caucus ready to stand with working people to defend their rights. A government in waiting that stands for working people, a strong middle class and a sustainable economy that includes all our citizens.