OTTAWA – After two days of negotiations with a federal mediator in Ottawa, the CBC has tabled a new offer to the Canadian Media Guild which, says the CBC, is a “significant compromise.”
"I know the effect the labour dispute is having on Canadians across the country," said Robert Rabinovitch, president and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada, in the Corp.’s release Wednesday afternoon. "I want to thank listeners and viewers who have called and written and to let them know that we have heard them. We want to give Canadians their public broadcaster back and we will do everything we can to make that happen as quickly as possible. This offer is intended to do just that."
Specifically:
* The Corporation has agreed to restrict the number of additional contract positions it engages to just 90 additional per year.
* The CBC has proposed that after two years of service, contract employees will be eligible for full pension and severance benefits on par with permanent full time employees.
* Existing contract employees will be able to retroactively buy back eligible pension service or continue to receive payment in lieu of pension.
* CBC has proposed that in the event of a layoff, employees can be re-deployed across media (i.e., radio and television) if they have the demonstrated occupational qualifications and six months of experience in the past year in that media.
The Corporation monetary offer includes:
* A 3% increase upon ratification;
* A 3.5% retroactive pensionable lump sum;
* New job evaluation scales and retroactivity to be implemented January 9, 2006;
* A 2.0% wage increase (April 1, 2006);
* A 2.5% wage increase (April 1, 2007); and
* A 2.5% wage increase (April 1, 2008).
“While today’s offer represents a real compromise from the Corporation’s original position, it will nonetheless equip CBC/Radio-Canada to respond to the changing needs and interests of its audiences and the demands of the evolving broadcasting world. CBC/Radio-Canada hopes that today’s offer will bring an immediate end to the labour dispute and allow the Corporation to get back to providing Canadians with the best possible programming,” says the release.
The union has not yet responded publicly to the offer.
