The new collective agreement between CBC and CMG includes some important new elements for Temporary Employees. ***Please forward this note to colleagues who may not yet be receiving Guild emails.***

Temporary employees are a critical part of the organization and must be hired for the right reasons:
? to backfill of permanent employees who are away from work
? to deal with emergencies
? to augment staff for special situations, e.g. Elections, Olympics or program development

Over the past year or so, a special Guild committee has been meeting with management to review hundreds of cases across the country. Dozens and dozens of temporary employees have gotten permanent employment in that time. The work continues and the new agreement is designed to ensure temporary employees are hired for the proper reasons and are treated fairly.

Here are some tips to make sure your rights are respected:

KEEP YOUR OWN RECORDS:
These should include any engagement letters or documents, time cards, pay stubs, schedules, etc. related to your employment. This will be essential in helping to resolve any disputes over your work history and your rights.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON THE BENEFITS PLAN IF YOU QUALIFY:
You are entitled to benefits if you are engaged or ultimately work for periods of 13 weeks or longer and work at least 29 hours per week. Statutory holidays and any approved paid or unpaid leaves are included as part of the qualifying 29 hours. An employee who has a break in service of less than 13 weeks after qualifying for benefits does not have to re-qualify if they return to employment at CBC.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE MOVING ALONG THE SALARY STEPS:
Temporary employees move up a step in the salary band in which they have worked the majority of time (and in all bands below that) each time they have worked 1,950 hours or two years, whichever comes first.

CONVERTING TO PERMANENT STATUS
Temporary employees should be converted to permanent status if they have worked in the same position for 18 months (24 months if it is for backfill in the case of replacing someone on Long Term Disability). This period includes:
? any time spent on any authorized leave
? any time spent on a temporary upgrade
? and any break in service of a week or less

If you have any questions about your employment and rights at CBC, please get in touch with a member of your local CMG executive. You can find more information at http://www.cmg.ca/cbcbranchhome.asp.