TORONTO – Late yesterday, the CBC gave its union, the Canadian Media Guild, a 72 hour lockout notice, meaning that if the two sides can’t somehow come to an agreement by Sunday night, 5,500 English TV and radio workers across the country will be locked out Monday morning.
"We are disappointed to have to take this action," said Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of CBC Television. "However, after 15 months of negotiations, our key issues remain unresolved – issues which are crucial to CBC’s success as a national public broadcaster and as a well-managed company in a competitive media marketplace."
"We are still at the bargaining table," added Jane Chalmers, vice-president of CBC Radio, "and we remain committed to reaching a negotiated collective agreement with the union. We will continue to meet with CMG up until the deadline to achieve this."
Today, CBC presented a fair, competitive and realistic comprehensive offer to CMG, says the Corp. – one that recognizes the business pressures and need for change at the public broadcaster, and acknowledges the needs and aspirations of employees.
The proposal contains a number of positive developments for CBC employees, including deferred salary leave, alternate work arrangements, turnaround, probation and job evaluation implementation.
It is hoped that discussions will continue so that an agreement can be reached before the August 15 deadline, says the CBC release.
If not, as reported yesterday by www.cartt.ca, much of the Corp.’s programming will be affected, especially in news and sports.
"We recognize the effect that this could have on our many employees, partners, stakeholders, and our audiences," Stursberg said. "However, given the impasse that we face, we feel it is the only responsible action to take.
“We have a contingency programming plan in place, and will do our best to continue to provide an appropriate level of service to Canadians if a work stoppage occurs,” he added.
