TORONTO – With the headlines in British Columbia and Alberta touting the Telus strike which began today, Rogers Telecom announced it’s expanding its local phone service further into the Lower Mainland of B.C., adding five more communities to its coverage area.
Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and the Newton area of Surrey are the main communities. With today’s announcement, Rogers Telecom facilities (formerly the Sprint Canada network, which Rogers purchased earlier this year) are now co-located in 160 wire centres across Canada.
"Residents and businesses in these Lower Mainland communities will now have a choice when it comes to selecting a…
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BURNABY, B.C. – With a looming deadline, Telus and the Telecommunications Workers Union continue to squabble.
"Telus’s plan to bribe our members into accepting their unilaterally-imposed deal is not working," said TWU president Bruce Bell, in the latest of the union’s string of press releases.
As reported here last week, Telus has decided to impose a contract on its workers, who have been working based on its most recent deal, which expired over four years ago.
Telus wants to force a vote of the union membership. The TWU is resisting such a move saying that the contract has not…
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TORONTO – With huge top and bottom line growth in radio, Corus Entertainment today went to some lengths to show that it isn’t just happenstance or an anomaly, but a broad-based resurgence.
The company’s third quarter results, released Thursday, showed the company’s radio profits surged by 21% on a 12% increase in ad revenue. For public companies, this is always challenging. It’s great news now, but then the company is under pressure to grow even more next year.
Company CEO John Cassaday showed financial analysts late Thursday afternoon how broadly-based the spike in ad revenue is, saying 12…
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BURNABY, B.C.- One hundred and fifty Telus print shop workers have been suspended for four days after taking an hour off this morning for a “study session”.
Part of the Telecommunications Workers Union’s escalating job action against the telephone company, the union set up the hour-long study session in the Telus print shop this morning.
In response, Telus told the Richmond, B.C. workers who print and document customer bills to stay home for four days.
"As a result of Telus’s actions, the Richmond print and document centre is behind picket lines until TWU members return to work there on…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced this morning that it will unilaterally implement its latest offer of contract settlement with its workers.
The comprehensive collective agreement, tabled with the Telecommunications Workers Union on April 13, 2005 and the addendum tabled on June 14, 2005 will take effect as of July 22, 2005, said the company.
That apparently answers the question of what it thinks of the offer of mediation by Labour Minister Joe Fontana.
"Given the escalation of job action by the union and its continuing refusal to consider placing the offer before its membership for a ratification vote, Telus concluded…
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BURNABY, B.C. – The Telecommunications Workers Union, angry that Telus plans to simply implement its latest contract offer, says it will escalate its job action, but did not say they would strike.
"Yesterday the federal Minister of Labour took a very positive step. He offered to appoint a special mediator with the power to mediate a resolution to the dispute between Telus and the TWU," said union president Bruce Bell in a release.
"But within hours, the company rejected the Minister’s offer and heaped scorn on the idea of entering into a special mediation process," he said. "Then, this…
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CALGARY and VANCOUVER – Telus announced today the extension of its long-standing partnerships with the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks with a pair of five-year, multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals.
Telus also announced a marketing deal with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen as well.
In addition to advertising at the respective arenas (The Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary and GM Place in Vancouver) Telus will be the teams’ exclusive telecommunications sponsor, will support several charitable causes driven by the hockey teams and will work with the teams to use telecommunications technology to bring the game to fans in innovative ways…
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BURNABY, B.C. – Telus and the Telecommunications Workers Union have received a letter from Minister of Labour and Housing Joe Fontana offering mediation for their long-running dispute.
"We are encouraged by this move by the government," said Telecommunications Workers Union president Bruce Bell in a press release.
"According to the Minister, under the terms of this initiative both parties will have a role in selecting someone with real expertise to listen to our issues. This person will also have the Minister’s ear. That’s invaluable," added Bell. "In addition, both sides will be able to shape the process and to…
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OTTAWA – Given the timelines involved in relation to other proceedings already under way, one wonders why the CRTC is even bothering with its latest telecom public notice.
On Thursday, the Commission called for comments on Bell Canada’s application on introducing Bell Digital Voice (PN #2005-9). Thing is, it’s already been approved and there are much bigger fish to fry – some of which are already frying.
Bell Digital Voice is the VOIP (voice over IP) service the company launched in Quebec months prior to the CRTC’s May 12 decision on the matter which said, in part, that…
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VANCOUVER – The Supreme Court of Canada last week rejected Telus’s bid to appeal the decision that gave the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) scope over new employees acquired from the company’s $6 billion purchase of Clearnet in 2000.
"We’re extremely pleased about this decision," said Bruce Bell, the president of Telecommunications Workers Union, in a release. "Telus has been in denial for years that the Clearnet employees belong in the TWU and now they’ve exhausted their legal angles. They did everything they could to avoid giving us contact information for these employees, who are now part of Telus Mobility,…
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