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But salaries are the least of it. Like most public sector employees, they also enjoy defined-benefit pension plans, which no longer exist in the private sector. The relatively few private sector employees fortunate enough to enjoy any pensions have defined-contribution plans. With a defined-benefit plan, a set pension amount is guaranteed for life, regardless of how the plan performs, whereas defined-contribution plans pay out according to the value of the monies in the plan.

Keeping its defined benefit pensions, CUPW said at the start of the labour dispute, was its key issue. When it began receiving blow-back from taxpayers, it quickly revised its talking point to “pay equity.” Now, what they are arguing is that because rural postal carriers are predominantly female, and urban letter carriers male, Canada Post is purportedly breaching pay equity legislation.

Yet, the existing wage disparity for letter carriers in urban vs. rural areas was negotiated by the union based on living costs in each. This is a red herring meant to develop public sympathy for a union that deserves none.

To be clear, the major issue here is Canada Post’s demand that new employees receive defined-contribution plans while existing workers retain their unaffordable defined-benefit pensions. To put this in perspective, the shortfall for Canada Post’s defined-benefit pension plan as of the first quarter of 2016 is $6.1 billion, up from about $3.4 billion two years ago. With interest rates likely to remain low, the shortfall will continue to grow exponentially. That deficit is picked up by Canadian taxpayers, in addition to $3 of pension contributions for every dollar paid by postal workers.