TORONTO – Calling it “a cynical waste of taxpayers’ money”, the Canadian Media Guild lambasted both the CBC’s latest contract offer, and the Corporation’s decision to take out newspaper ads to plead its side of the story.
"The offer means that literally every future employee could be hired on a non-permanent basis," said chief negotiator Dan Oldfield. "This is out of line with Canadian workplace values, and far worse that what you find among private-sector broadcasters. It’s clear CBC management is not anxious to end this crisis."
The union estimates that the Corp. spent $250,000 on the ads.
“Under the proposal, the number of individual contract employees would jump from 180 today to almost 500 by the end of the collective agreement. But that’s not all. Under the freelance provisions of the proposed offer there would be no limitations on the hiring of so-called ‘fixed-term contract’ workers. There is no commitment to ensuring that the future hiring model will be based on a permanent workforce, only a weak assurance that existing employees will not have to switch to contract status,” says the press release.
“The advertisement suggests an improvement in layoff and recall rights. This is a pure lie. The management proposal actually reduces rights for virtually every employee. It takes away access to jobs in different regions for about 2,500 members and reduces recall rights,” reads the CMG release.
“The details of the offer were made available to the papers long before they were tabled to the union. That action, coupled with the inadequate offer of settlement tabled today, makes it clear the Corporation had no intentions of seriously bargaining this past week. The ads are little more than a cynical stunt designed to deflect public and government pressure. The time for assuring Canadians is after an agreement is reached.”
Here’s the union analysis of the CBC’s latest offer:
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
There is no commitment to maintain full-time, permanent positions. Management is attempting to present the proposal as a "hard cap" on the use of contract employees. The proposal seems to suggest that the number of individual contract positions could increase from the current 180 to 560 by the end of the term of the collective agreement. But it’s far more than that. In fact, the proposal swings the door wide-open to hiring only non-permanent employees in the future. There is no limit whatsoever on the number of temporaries and so-called "fixed-term" contract employees who could be hired. And there’s no reason why the Corporation would choose one type of non-permanent employee over another. As far as temporaries are concerned the proposal is even worse. Temporary employees could be hired for as little as an hour a day. Most would never have the opportunity to have health and other benefits.
FREELANCERS
Freelance employees receive short shrift in this offer. The fees paid to them would be increased by a total of only 2% over the first two years of the deal. The management offer also seeks bargain-basement rates for freelance work that it sells to third parties.
WORKFORCE ADJUSTMENT
The management offer would see the layoff and recall rights of many employees significantly reduced. Not only does the Corporation insist that rights be exercised in components (i.e. radio, television, English, French and Corporate), it sets a high qualifications test for the exercise of those rights. This proposal is made at a time when the Corporation that is making greater and greater demands for flexibility and cross-media integration. In order to exercise rights in another component, an employee would have to have 6 months "experience" within the previous 12 months in another component in order to take work in that component.
The offer also reduces layoff and recall rights for "protected employees." And it provides no additional benefits to people who lose their jobs as the result of technological change, contracting out, sale of business or significant changes in work methods.
WAGES
The offer would mean employees on the payroll as of the date of ratification receive a 3% increase on the wage scales as of that date. The next wage increase of 2% would come into effect on April 1, 2006. In other words, the total wage increase for the first two years would be equal to 3%. We think 3% over two years is not reasonable. The offer also contains increases of 2.5% in 2007 and 2008.
Employees would also be paid on ratification a lump sum equal to 3.5% of their base wage retroactive to April 1, 2004. But contract employees and temporary employees who have left the Corporation or who have been released during the lockout would receive no retroactive pay.
The CBC was on the case quickly, debunking some of what the union is saying. “The union has spent time reviewing the offer and has made some statements that misinterpret our proposal,” says the CBC release.
CMG Claim: "The offer means that literally every future employee could be hired on a non-permanent basis."
Fact: Our proposal strictly limits our ability to hire contract employees in limited specified job classifications to a maximum of 90 additional contract positions per year. We have also, in our proposal, reduced the number of classifications under which we are seeking this flexibility and it does not include many key positions, such as Reporter. The proportion of contract staff in these limited classifications would increase very gradually, only through normal turnover, which is currently running at approximately 4.2% per year.
CMG Claim: "Under the freel! ance provisions of the proposed offer there would be no limitations on the hiring of so-called fixed-term contract" workers.
Fact: Currently, there is no limitation on the hiring of freelance fixed term, temporary or casual employees. The percentage of employees on short-term employment arrangements (temporary and casual) fluctuates with replacement needs (maternity backfill, sick leave replacement, etc) and with major projects like Federal elections and Canada Day coverage. The conditions under which short-term employees may be hired have not changed significantly, and the overall percentage has remained relatively constant due to the nature of these hires. This will not change
CMG Claim: "There is no commitment to ensure that the future hiring model will be based on a permanent workforce, only a weak assurance that existing employees will not have to switch to contract status.
Fact: The majority of CBC’s employees will continue to be permanent. CBC, in fact, has guaranteed that current permanent employees will main tain their permanent status in the future by committing in our proposal that:
* "Employees who are permanent as of date of ratification of this collective agreement will maintain their permanent status and will not be required to revert to or accept contract status"; and
* "Permanent employees may retain their permanent status as they move to different positions, regardless of whether or not the new position has been posted as a contract position."
CMG Claim: "The sparsity of the monetary offer is also a serious concern."
Fact: The CBC’s monetary offer includes:
* 3.0% increase – upon ratification
* 3.5% pensionable lump-sum payment – upon ratification
* Over $17 million dollars in J.E. payments – January 9, 2006
* Increased payroll of $2.4 million
* $15 million in retroactive payments in lump sum payments
* salary protection for red-circled employees plus a lump sum payment equal to the amount of a general wage increase
* 2.0 % general wage increase – April 1, 2006
* 2.5 % general wage increase – April 1, 2007
* 2.5 % general wage increase – April 1, 2008
In addition, our settlement offer also contains benefits including:
* Full pension eligibility for Contract Employees
* Full Severance Benefits and greater notice period for Contract employees
* Same Benefits as Permanent Staff for Contract Employees and Temporary Employees
* Cross Component Bumping in some Situations
* More Standardized Hours of Work and Improved Overtime Provisions
* Long Service Gratuity for all current permanent CMG employees
“The CBC has made a serious and responsible offer to CMG because we want an immediate end to the labour disruption. We have made significant compromises in order to achieve that,” says the Corp.’s release.
