After a meeting with TVO management today, the union applied to the Minister of Labour for a no-board report. As of May 10, 2008 the parties will be in a strike/lockout position. This does not necessarily mean there will be a work stoppage. Another conciliation meeting has been set for May 8.

We have not taken this action lightly. Your committee is deeply disappointed that management representatives at the bargaining table returned after a break of nearly two months with nothing to offer concerning the critical issue of a consultative process prior to the implementation of any significant change at TVO. We were surprised by this, given the CEO’s statement at the April 2 staff meeting that collectively we are smarter than any of us individually. We took those remarks as a sign that TVO respected the intelligence of its employees and would be open to a reasonable consultative process. Sadly this appears not to be case.

We hope the CEO is prepared to put into contract language her commitment to “promote a collaborative work environment.” We hope this will finally mean the company is prepared to table a proposal to guarantee that employees are given the opportunity to express ideas and concerns for the betterment of TVO and its employees.

We will provide you with a more detailed report on the state of negotiations early next week.

Your bargaining committee:
Carol Burtin Fripp
David Hawkins
George Pyron
Dan Oldfield, Senior Staff Representative, CMG