MONTREAL – A union representing CBC workers in Moncton, NB and Quebec wants Parliament to help it resolve an alleged wage disparity of more than 6% between its employees and those who do the same job for CBC in other parts of Canada.
The Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada (SCRC) represents 1,600 members in the province of Quebec and in Moncton. In a video unveiled Friday in both English and French, union president Alex Levasseur claims that the CBC and the SCRC signed a letter of understanding in 2009 that management would study plans to bring the wages of Quebec and Moncton employees in line with those of other CBC employees represented by the Canadian Media Guild. He alleges that CBC management has “…reneged its commitment to correct the inequity” by refusing to acknowledge or discuss the matter with union representatives.
Levasseur said that the wage disparity has been well documented by Stéphane Renaud, a University of Montreal professor and wage expert.
“There is no longer any doubt: the CBC and Radio-Canada do not offer the same wages to employees with the same evaluation punch”, Levasseur said in a statement. “Professor Renaud's study clearly shows that CBC/Radio-Canada employees are paid on average 6.85% less when they work in the province of Quebec or in Moncton. It's also a fact that the positions hit hardest by this inequity are the lowest paid ones which are mainly held by women."
Pascale St-Onge, secretary general of the Fédération nationale des communications-CSN (FNC-CSN), which is affiliated with SCRC, is urging parliamentarians to watch the video and take a stand on the matter.
"We know that very few people are aware of this injustice” she said in the statement. “The FNC believes it's the responsibility of members of Parliament to take concrete action in order to put a stop to this unfairness.”
