Postal workers’ union blasts back to work legislation
Posted Jun 25, 2011 9:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Biased, undemocratic and punitive–those are some of the words the president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers is using to describe new federal back to work legislation.
Denis Lemelin tells 660News, they’re disappointed with the legislation and they didn’t need the government to step in.
“We were doing well. The mail was going on and at some point, they decided that it was time to have a lock-out and to legislate us back,” he says. “I think it’s sad. It’s sad for the life, the democratic life of our society.”
“The government wanted to really impose a view around the rights of the workers in this country and that’s really what’s happening here,” he adds.
He’s contesting the Conservative government’s claim that the legislation was necessary. He says that’s illogical and postal workers had offered to return to work.
Lemelin says he’s upset the amendments proposed by the New Democratic Party during the 58-hour filibuster were rejected.
“The government was really, really adamant that they wouldn’t make any changes,” he says. “We tried, in the last three days to really discuss with the government through the NDP to make changes, but we saw what happened.”
Lemelin adds they’ll continue to fight for safe work, pensions and jobs, in spite of what he calls a “punitive bill.”
