OTTAWA – The CBC has revealed the details of its latest offer to the union that precipitated the two-week-old lockout, as both sides gear up to resume formal negotiations on Wednesday.
The corporation says on Aug. 11, it gave its second comprehensive offer to the Canadian Media Guild containing proposals on all financial items, including general wage increases, payments for reclassifying positions, and retroactive payments.
The CBC says it’s committed to spending $17.4 million in retroactive payments and wage increases to offset job evaluation, which in some cases would alter pay scales. Of that amount, $15 million would be retroactive payments to employees: $10 million for those whose jobs have increased in value due to job evaluation, $4.5 million in recognition of “rationalization of pay scales,” and $500,000 for employees who retired since job evaluation began.
A total of 4,427 CBC employees would receive retroactive payments under the corporation’s latest offer.
The 53-month deal would grant a general wage increase of 2% per year after the date of ratification. Wages would also increase retroactively to Apr. 1, 2004, at a rate of 2% of base salary prorated to the time the union members signed the deal.
The proposal also includes a shift differential increase, increases to the sales vehicle allowance, improvements to holidays and holiday pay, improved bereavement leave, and an increase on temporary upgrades.
“CBC’s goal throughout this process continues to be on crafting a collective agreement that balances the needs of our employees and the CMG, while supporting our goals as the national public broadcaster and a well-managed company,” the corporation says in a news release. “Our offer is fair, competitive and realistic for our employees, and recognizes CBC’s business pressures and need for change in order to be successful in the future.”
The release says nothing about the most contentious issue with the CMG: the corporation’s desire to hire more workers on contract.
Meanwhile, representatives from the broadcaster and union have been meeting, and agreed to resume formal talks as smaller groups from the negotiating committees are set to meet on Wednesday. "It is hoped the smaller committees can create the necessary dialogue that will move us towards reaching agreement on the key issues at the table," says a CMG release. "The ultimate goal is to restart formal negotiations in order to reach a collective agreement. We welcome the return to the table and believe that, with a spirit of co-operation and compromise, an agreement can be achieved in the near future."
