The first quarterly review of CP/BN finances shows the company is doing better than expected and is very much in the black. However, it is still too early to draw any conclusions about overall annual performance.
Last year, Guild members at CP/BN agreed to give up a week’s pay to help the company cover its increased pension costs. As part of that deal, the company and the Guild agreed to sit down and review financial results at the end of each quarter. The first review took place April 20. This was a combined meeting of the Employee-Employer Committee and the Guild negotiating team with management representatives.
As stated in our March bargaining communiqu?, we have deferred financial negotiations until after July 20, when we will review the mid-year results. We’ve seen nothing to persuade us to change those plans.
FEDERAL ELECTION
It now appears the money to pay for covering a federal election (expected at any time) can be found within this year’s budget, thanks in part to your wage reduction. To help control costs, we have agreed to extend the federal election protocol that was applied to the last election, with one change. The four-week window following the election, during which managers can require employees who covered the leaders to use overtime accumulated during the campaign, can be extended by four weeks. This extension can only occur by mutual agreement. When the election is called, we will re-issue the entire protocol and our “explainer” to Guild staff.
While the bargaining survey indicated that wages are important, the Employee-Employer committee is also addressing other issues you raised:
INTEGRATION
Your frustration with the increased workload and other issues tied to integration has led to a joint effort. There is agreement that the goals and expectations have not been made clear and even managers haven’t understood what is required. The Guild and management have written a detailed statement on integration to be issued to all employees shortly. This is the first step in developing a clear set of requirements for every editorial employee across the company. We encourage you to speak to your supervisors about what is working, not working or what needs improvement. You may also want to hold staff meetings in your department or bureau.
LASTLY,
Many of you reacted angrily to the use of managers to do our jobs on prestigious international assignments. While there is nothing in our collective agreement to prevent this from occurring occasionally, we have conveyed your anger to management. Their explanation is that this was done for journalistic reasons to ensure the best possible talent and coverage.
CP Branch Executive
Colin Perkel, Martin O’Hanlon, Gillian Livingston
CMG Bargaining Committee
Scott Edmonds, James Stevenson, Karine Fortin,
Kathy Viner, CMG Staff rep.