TORONTO – Preliminary talks resume today between the CBC and the Canadian Media Guild, aimed at ending the more than two-week-old lockout that is mainly about wages and contracting out.
The corporation says chief negotiators from both sides “have had some meaningful contact over the last few days” and will start to discuss unresolved issues.
Representatives are meeting in smaller groups “to enable more focused, committed discussion between the parties,” the broadcaster says.
“CBC welcomes this opportunity to get back to the table to continue discussions with the CMG on all of the outstanding issues so we can work toward reaching agreement on the key issues at the table and get back to the work that we all do best: creating exceptional public broadcasting for the Canadian public on radio, television, and online,” the corporation says in a statement.
The Guild is hopeful. “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,” CMG says in a release.
