Agreement was reached last night on one of the most important issues in the lockout. The Canadian Media Guild and CBC management finalized the wording on the article on “contracting out.” The article addresses situations such as the contracting out earlier this year of the publicity department. To be clear, it is not about hiring employees on contract.

The contracting out article sets out the rules and processes the Corporation must follow if it intends to outsource any of the work currently done by CMG members. During the discussions, management’s chief negotiator said that there are no plans at the moment for any further contracting out.

The agreement leaves five more “key issues” to be settled. Today, two other major issues, layoff/recall and job evaluation, are on the agenda.