TORONTO – The Canadian Media Guild is asking the federal labour minister to appoint a conciliator to help settle a number of issues that remain unresolved in negotiating a new collective agreement for editorial staff at APTN.
Bargaining on key fundamental issues has come to an impasse, says the union,
"Management continues to propose to tie employee progression on the salary scales to its flawed performance review system. Under APTN’s proposal, if an employee was graded ‘unsatisfactory’ in just one category of their annual performance review, they would not be entitled a salary increase," says the union. "If an employee was graded “needs improvement” in just two categories, they would also not be entitled to a salary increase."
"Under this scenario, an APTN manager could deny an increase because someone submitted time sheets late, or kept a messy desk," claims the union release. "The effect is to deny employees pay increases based on their increased experience and value to the broadcaster."
"The bargaining committee believes we’ve gone as far as possible in negotiations, so the Guild will be applying to the Federal Minister of Labour to appoint a conciliator in our continued effort to reach a peaceful solution. Once appointed, the conciliator will meet with both parties to help us overcome the impasse," reads the release.
