by Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 03/97) - The federal government yesterday introduced legislation in the House of Commons which would force striking postal workers back to work.

The move means Canadian Union of Postal Workers could be back on the job as early as tomorrow. Third reading in the House was expected at the latest today, with Senate approval and royal assent to follow quickly.

Failure to obey the legislation could mean heavy fines.

Postal workers refusing to go back to work would face fines of $1,000 a day while local presidents would face $10,000 a day. Regional and national representatives would be fined $50,000 and $100,000 daily respectively, Local 858 president Dale Bouchard in Yellowknife said.

"It's a sad day for labor when government steps in," she said, adding that Yellowknife postal workers will "wait and see what the national union decides before taking any action."

Under the legislation, postal workers would get a 1.5 per cent pay increase in the first year and be expected to work out remaining differences within three months.

Bouchard said that's less than what the two sides had agreed to prior to the move to legislate CUPW members back to work.

Canada's 45,000 postal workers walked off the job Nov. 19 after months of fruitless negotiations. The union started out wanting eight per cent over 18 months. Canada Post started with three per cent over two years. The union maintains the issue is job security.