I am receiving reports that the employer is attempting to circumvent our Collective
Agreement’s rights under Article 15.08 and deny every letter carrier their own route overtime. This is
a violation of the Collective Agreement and the recent CIRB decision. Art. 15.08 states:
15.08 Assignment of Overtime for Group 2
Insofar as practicable, overtime on an employee’s route or assignment will be performed by
the employee assigned to that particular route or assignment.
This is not optional like the word “may”. The definition of practicable is, “able to be done or put into
practice successfully.” If a letter carrier wants to perform their own route over time they meet the
definition. This has been a past practice for decades. The Employer is trying remove on route OT in
negotiations under every circumstance which is a clear violation of the Canada Labour Code.
Please advise your members they have the right to do their own route overtime if they choose. If the
employer prevents your members from doing overtime, please request they ask for grievance time
and file a grievance. The employer is also trying to say they can deny letter carriers their own over
time for “safety reasons”, which is a false premise. This is not like the weather or forest fires where the
employer can suspend delivery for safety reasons. I have raised the issue with National and
objected with the Regional Level of Labour Relations and Management.
In solidarity,
Mark Platt
National Director, Ontario Region
Please