TORONTO – With unions across the country taking advantage of a high profile lockout by signaling their support for the CBC workers with hyperbolic press releases, the CBC felt the need to clarify things.
This week CUPE National president Paul Moist made public his position on the current work stoppage at the CBC with a press release, reported on www.cartt.ca. “Mr. Moist’s support for CMG and its positions is not unexpected,” says a release from the CBC. “However, it is disappointing that he recites the union line with little apparent thought to the real issues behind it and the context in which these negotiations have taken place.
“Specifically, Mr. Moist has confused the issue of Contracting Out, or outsourcing, with the main issue that has led to this impasse: Employment Status,” it continues.
“For the record, the CBC’s proposals on Employment Status deal with the hiring of new employees in certain classifications on a contractual basis versus hiring them on a permanent basis. It does not involve the ‘privatization’ of the Corporation in any way. The current collective agreements permit hiring of employees on contract; the CBC’s proposals simply seek to expand the corporation’s options to hire new employees on a contractual basis. This is essential in today’s broadcasting industry, where programs, formats and entire services come and go constantly.”
CBC’s proposals have been designed not to affect the permanent status of any current employees and this assurance is set out in the proposed collective agreement. As well, some quite large job classifications, such as reporters, have been specifically excluded from the proposals regarding contractual status.
“In terms of what this means to the makeup of the CBC: As of March 2005, CBC employed 5,305 CMG members of whom 3,838 were permanent employees (72.3%), 289 were contract employees (5.4%) and 1,178 are temporary or casual employees (22.3%). Discussions to date have revolved around what classifications can be filled in the future by either a permanent or a contract employee, given that today only 5% are contractual,” says the CBC.
Contract employees at the CBC enjoy similar or equal benefits to permanent employees doing the same work, including:
* Most of the same working conditions as permanent employees
* Most receive an additional cash payment in lieu of health benefits or the benefits themselves as well as a further cash payment in lieu of pension benefits so they can plan for their retirements individually
* Representation by the Canadian Media Guild
* The protection of many provisions of the collective agreement between the bargaining unit and the CBC.
“This stands in stark contrast to the situation in other areas of the Canadian public sector, in other parts of the Canadian broadcasting industry, and other public broadcasters around the world, where the gulf between contract and permanent employees is considerable,” adds the release.
“CBC is prepared to do everything in its power to get a deal but it cannot and will not mortgage the future of the Corporation to do so.”
