The job cuts and contracting out announced over the past couple of weeks at the CBC gave new urgency to the key proposals the Canadian Media Guild has made since the beginning of this round of bargaining. These proposals aim to make sure that our work remains at the CBC and that our members have full and fair opportunities to pursue their careers with Canada’s public broadcaster.

We expect to continue discussing the proposals across the bargaining table in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, in our first week back after a short break, the Guild tabled nearly a dozen pieces of language that relate, among other things, to seniority, workload and safety.

Seniority is a very important principle in securing our members’ jobs at the Corporation. When it comes to making decisions that affect peoples’ lives and careers, such as imposing layoffs, seniority is really the only objective factor. If it is not used to inform such decisions, favouritism and bias too easily come into play.

On workload, we have proposed that the union have the right to raise individual members’ concerns formally with the Corporation to seek meaningful resolutions. We have found that members are reluctant to express their real concerns to their managers for fear they will be viewed, unjustly, as lazy or unmotivated. However, individual meetings are the only method recognized in our existing contracts.

The Guild also put forward a new proposal on working conditions and safety last week, aiming to make sure the needs of all employees are met, regardless of the kind of work they do.

You will be hearing from us often over the next seven weeks, as we will be bargaining almost continuously.

For more information, please get in touch with us at guild@interlog.com or by calling 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.

Your bargaining committee:
Arnold Amber, Toronto
Pierre Claveau, Vancouver
Brendan Elliott, Charlottetown
Percy Hatfield, Windsor
Joe Hill, Toronto
Wendy Hunt, Toronto
Gerry Jones, Regina
Barbara Saxberg, Toronto
Lee Siemon, Toronto
Chris Turner, Fredericton
Rick Warren, Vancouver
Dan Oldfield, Senior CMG staff representative