CBC managers met today with employees of Newsworld International to tell them that the service would cease on July 31, 2005. Al Gore and other buyers of the service have announced they would not renew NWI’s service contract. Employees were told that their jobs would continue until the end of July. The Canadian Media Guild estimates that between 50 and 60 members are affected.

The Guild later met with managers to discuss what process should be used to deal with the people affected by the closure of NWI. We will make every effort to see that our members get meaningful assignments when their current jobs come to an end, with the least disruption to everyone.

In the event of downsizing, a key role for the Guild is to make sure that the CBC follows a fair and transparent process for dealing with affected employees. We want to make sure that neither favouritism nor discrimination enter the picture. Our other main priority is to help those who want to stay with the Corporation get an opportunity for another assignment.

Our collective agreements state that permanent employees aren’t necessarily out the door if their current job is cut. In fact, in most downsizing situations, many Guild members are able to stay with the CBC if they wish. This is a very important principle that we are fighting to keep in the current round of bargaining. For information on bargaining, go to http://www.cmg.ca/cbcbranchnegsupdates.asp .

The union is supposed to receive at least eight weeks notice before jobs are “made redundant” so we can work with the CBC to find alternate employment for affected employees. The employee is supposed to get no less than four weeks notice their job is being made redundant.

If there are no appropriate vacancies, the employee can either displace another with less seniority who do jobs in the same or a lower classification, or accept a layoff with severance pay and the right to come back if an appropriate vacancy becomes open.

In the Newsworld International case, we have more time than usual to help affected employees. Even though no one has received a redundancy notice yet, we encourage you to update your resume and send it to Bruce May (bruce@cmg.ca) at the national Guild office. You will be contacted by a representative of the Guild to follow up.

For more information, please contact the Guild (guild@interlog.com) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.