TORONTO – Over 5,500 CBC employees who are members of the Canadian Media Guild are casting ballots today and tomorrow to give their bargaining unit a strike mandate.
The CMG is urging its members to vote yes, saying that the CBC is “trying to guarantee maximum flexibility to hire and fire employees at its whim.” Talks have been ongoing since May 2004.
The two sides are now meeting with a federally-appointed conciliator, which is expected to last until late in July. If no deal is reached the two sides have a 21-day “cooling off” period, during which they can continue to bargain, says the CMG. If there still isn’t a deal by that time – the middle of August – either side must give the other 72 hours notice before beginning a strike or lockout.
No hard strike deadline has yet been set.
The CMG most strongly objects, not to money, but to the fact that the CBC is moving more towards hiring contract workers and not full time employees.
“CBC’s desire to hire more people in an informal way by putting them on contract rather than permanent staff is part of a global trend,” says CMG president Lise Lareau. “This trend is not good for employees and nor is it particularly cheaper for employers. But it does give employers more control and power over employees by keeping them on a short leash, and employers get away without making any real commitment to their staff.”
Lareau urged her members to “take advantage of this vote to speak up, to push back, and to oppose stuff that’s clearly bad for us: informal hiring arrangements, overtime averaging, short turnaround periods, contracting out bits of Canada’s public broadcaster one piece at a time. The issues on the table are big issues. They are your issues. And you have a say, unlike many employees worldwide.”
– Greg O’Brien
