Permanent employees facing layoff can either accept a temporary job at the CBC or quit and give up their rights under the collective agreement, according to a new move by CBC management.

Days before Christmas, the CBC advised a 16-year employee from Unit 3 that her position was redundant. She was then told that she had to accept a temporary job, or resign and give up her layoff rights, including pay. On top of that, the Corporation is taking the view that she does not have the right to union representation in meetings with management about her reassignment.

“This is a huge step backward in our dealings with management on layoffs,” says Guild representative Glenn Gray. “In the past, we’ve worked well together in dealing with layoffs and it is distressing that the CBC’s new position comes from the most senior levels of its Human Resources department.”

The CBC cannot unilaterally take away employees’ rights to layoff provisions in the agreement. The Guild has filed both a grievance and a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

As you probably know, the contract allows an employee in a redundant position a number of options: accept lay-off, pursue reassignment to a vacant position through the union/management employment committee, or exercise displacement rights. The contract also gives management discretion to allow the employee to take a temporary assignment and defer the displacement process if he or she so desires.

For more information, contact Glenn Gray (glenn@cmg.ca) or Dan Oldfield (dan@cmg.ca) at the Canadian Media Guild at 1-800-465-4149 or 416-591-5333.