After a short but productive week of bargaining April 11-13, the decks have largely been cleared for talks to begin on money during the week of April 23, when we meet again with CP’s negotiating team.

We have clarified the rules surrounding averaging and out-of-town assignments lasting five days or more.

There will now be language in the collective agreement to serve as a clearer guide for who should and should not be averaged. A circular on how to apply averaging is being developed.

Positions previously called National Writer have been renamed Specialist Reporter to ensure there is no confusion with other general assignment or beat reporters in bureaus who are not averaged. Three employees who have been improperly averaged will no longer be averaged. One who was not averaged now will be covered by the provision.

On out-of-town assignments, we have clarified that the protocol will not apply to things such as court cases or political conventions. The protocol will not apply in any bureau city if employees from the bureau are working alongside out-of-town employees, with the exception of sports events.

We have also agreed to a list of events that are covered by the protocol and the Guild must be informed before any employees are assigned to cover any event not on the list. It will give the Guild time to ensure the event qualifies under the terms of the protocol.
We have discussed the possibility of converting some part-time jobs in Montreal into full-time jobs. We have yet to reach agreement on the list of managers who should be excluded from the Guild.

We have agreed that we should try for a three-year contract. But we have heard your message loud and clear on monetary issues and will not agree to a contract that fails to meet your needs.

Your bargaining team,
Scott Edmonds
Sylvain Larocque
Terry Pedwell
Colin Perkel
Ken Trimble
Kathy Viner, CMG Staff Representative