TORONTO – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and its union, the Canadian Media Guild, are back at the bargaining table today.
Supported by an 87.3 % strike mandate, the CMG says it will stand firm on two major issues: employment status and job evaluation.
“It’s an important time as this week marks the end of the official conciliation period, which ends Sunday and will be followed by the 21 day cooling-off period. The two sides have agreed to mediation beginning Monday and continuing until a deal is reached,” says the CMG press release.
The Minister of Labour has appointed a second officer, Arnie Powers, to assist the two sides to get a deal. Powers has worked as a conciliator and mediator in several previous rounds of negotiations with the CBC. “He is familiar with the issues and with the work we do. This week, he joined the other conciliator, Jennifer Webster, who has been working with the parties since the beginning of June,” continued the release.
“At this stage, we are unable to report any progress on the critical issue of employment status. The Corporation already has significant flexibility in the way it can hire staff and has yet to explain what it needs that it cannot do under the existing collective agreements. We have reaffirmed that we will not accept a proposal with the sole purpose of making it easier for the Corporation to get rid of its employees.”
As for job evaluation, the union has identified and corrected a number of problems and is working through the outstanding issues. The two sides also exchanged proposals on work week, days off and shifts.
The cooling off period ends at midnight August 14. At that point the CBC and CMG can enter into an open period where either party can call a job action with 72 hours notice.
