This week in Toronto, CBC will honour workers who have worked at the public broadcaster for 25 years.  This well-deserved recognition is applauded by all union members.

However the CMG is disappointed that, once again, the Corporation refuses to also honour the long term commitment of those in temporary roles.

Increasingly, CBC is hiring workers into non-permanent roles.  An estimated 25% of CBC staff (1 in 4) are now in temporary roles, more than a thousand people across the country coping on a daily basis with the stress of potentially being unemployed on a moment’s notice.

In addition to the personal and financial impact of precarious work, CBC’s practice of shutting temporary workers out of the long-term service awards is unnecessarily hurtful.

Excluding these workers from the company’s appreciation program also hides related problems of overwork, lack of backfill and the difficulty other workers have to deal with filling in the gaps.

Help us honour our temporarily employed colleagues by visiting the CMG’s Long Service Award list, that celebrates the contributions and careers of our colleagues who are temporary workers at CBC – Union honours temporary workers’ long service – Members share their appreciation.

Q&A Helpful info for Temps: https://www.cmg.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Temp-FAQ-Document-June-2022.pdf

We urge the CBC to revisit its outdated policy, give more staff full time employment, and include temporary workers in all future long time service recognition ceremonies across the country.

Carmel Smyth, President, Canadian Media Guild
Kim Trynacity, CBC/Radio-Canada Branch President, Canadian Media Guild