More than 18 months after the end of the lockout at CBC, 590 Guild members will finally receive retroactive pay for the time they worked between April 2004 and August 2005. Under a settlement reached between the Canadian Media Guild and CBC management, many current and former employees who had been denied retroactivity at the end of the lockout, will receive a lump sum from the CBC soon.
“We are very glad that this issue has been resolved without any more time going by,” says Marc-Philippe Laurin, president of the CBC branch of the CMG. “This settlement will put $400,000 into our member’s pockets, people who put in their time at the CBC and were originally denied the added compensation.”
The settlement covers a number of situations in which Guild members were denied retroactivity, including because they had temporary status or retired or were laid off during the retroactivity period, or because they resigned their job during the lockout. In an effort to avoid a long arbitration hearing and to reach a quicker settlement, the CMG agreed that the people in question would be paid 80% of the retroactive wage increases for the time they worked.
The settlement also means that 68 temporary employees will now get paid for October 7 and 10, 2005. In exchange for putting all employees back on the payroll two days before the official return-to-work day of October 11, the CMG had agreed to allow some employees to return to work early to get programming back on the air. However, 68 temporary employees, who had worked regularly before the lockout, were originally denied pay for those days.
To find out if you are included on the CBC’s list for retroactive and/or October 7/10 payment, contact your local human resources office. Payments will go to all eligible people owed more than $50. If you find out that you are not on the list and believe you should qualify, get in touch with the Guild (info@cmg.ca) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.