Pension Sharing and Healthcare Fund Update
All four unions and the Pensioners Association met with CBC vice-president Marco Dubé on September 7, 2023 to discuss next steps on the pension sharing process. CBC management said it is committed to moving forward and respects the arbitrated decision that Pension Plan members should share in pension surpluses. We are ensuring that people will have the ability to transfer the money into the CBC Group RRSP. However, the complex calculations on how much each contributing member’s amount will be may take some time; so the Corporation is not able to confirm an exact timeline on delivery yet. The actuaries are working on it already for the two distinct Pension Plan actuarial valuation years (2021 and 2022), to calculate each individual amount owing. We will keep you posted whenever we get further updates from the Corporation, but be assured we are putting pressure to make sure payments are issued as soon as possible.
Bargaining Update
Negotiations with management will begin on October 16, 2023. In an effort to garner input and keep members apprised, we will host a zoom town hall before each week of bargaining, the first one being October 5 at 7 p.m. EST, so watch for those invites. If you wish to contact the bargaining team, please email CBCbargains2024@cmg.ca
Support for Members Evacuated for Wildfires
The CBC Branch Executive has twice now sent financial support to members who were evacuated from their homes due to encroaching wildfires this summer. There were 44 members in Yellowknife and 10 in Halifax who each received $300 support for immediate needs, while they were out of their homes and struggling to cover basic costs. Our union is there to help these members who are facing the devastating impacts of climate change on their doorstep, and we wish our Yellowknife members all the best as they return home.
Medical Benefits Providers Service
Have you had any problems accessing benefits with Canada Life or Reed Group? If you are certain that you have not received the full coverage you are entitled to, or have experienced poor customer service, or encountered other problems with either provider, we would like to hear about it.
Please take a minute to fill in this google form.
Artificial Intelligence Survey
Now is the moment to provide your opinion about artificial intelligence (AI), its impact on your work and your thoughts on what we should collectively do about it.
Our parent union, NewsGuild-CWA has created a survey to collect feedback and inform a collective bargaining, organizing and legislative campaign surrounding AI and our members. The survey takes about 5-10 minutes to complete and will be used to support our union’s position on AI. It’s open until Friday, September 22. One random member who completes the survey will be selected to win swag out of The NewsGuild-CWA’s online store!
TVO Strike
Our CMG colleagues at the Ontario provincial public broadcaster have been on strike since August 21, fighting for fair wages and permanent jobs. Please consider supporting their strike fund https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/tvocmg-strike-fund It’s important we back our fellow CMG media workers when they take on their employer for the first time in their 53 year history!
Keeping you informed,
CBC Branch Executive Council