The Guild is doing everything it can to help prevent layoffs and is working closely with our employers in this difficult economic time. In general, Guild provisions on layoffs are based on seniority, which means that it’s not simply up to the boss to decide who stays and who goes based on their personal preference.

Here are some highlights from several of our agreements. You can find out more at www.cmg.ca or by talking to a Guild activist in your location.

CBC/Radio-Canada: Employees get at least six weeks of notice before a layoff. During that time, an employee will have access first to full time permanent vacancies in their classification in their location. If there are no vacancies, they may bump the most junior person in their classification. If no job is available by that means, the employee has access first to vacancies in other positions in their Band for which they are qualified (e.g. AP work if you are an AP-Tech), and then to bumping in their Band. After those possibilities have been exhausted, the process will continue through vacancies and then bumping in each progressively lower salary band. The Part-Time redeployment process follows the same procedure within the Part-Time pool. Employees with more than six years of service may also follow the above process within their region if they have been unsuccessful in securing a new position in their location. And if there’s no position in the region, national vacancies will be canvassed. Temporary and contract vacancies may also be used to delay a layoff. After layoff, an employee is placed on the recall list for fifteen months. Severance pay is three weeks per year of service. The first half is paid immediately upon layoff, and the second half is paid either at the end of recall rights or earlier, if an employee decides to waive recall. If an employee is placed back into permanent work, they do not receive the remainder of their severance pay. However, if they are laid off a second time, their severance pay will include the money they were not paid the first time around. Contract vacancies are available for placement before an employee is laid off, but aren’t available for the purposes of recall. Contract and temporary employees do not have displacement rights or recall rights. Contract employees who are not renewed will receive one week of salary for each six months of continuous service to the Corporation.

Canwest TV: Employees should receive two weeks notice before a layoff. Layoffs are by reverse seniority, except in the case where operational requirements determine that a more junior employee is retained. In each affected classification, temporary and probationary employees have to be let go before any permanent employees who have passed probation. Laid-off employees retain recall rights and seniority for 12 months. When a vacancy becomes available, the most senior qualified person will be re-employed. Severance pay is given at the end of an employee’s recall rights. An employee may opt to terminate their recall before it ends and will receive severance immediately. Employees with less than two years of service are entitled to two weeks per year of service and that increases to three weeks after two years of service.

S-VOX: Employees are entitled to at least two weeks of notice, or a combination of two weeks of notice and pay in lieu, before a layoff. During that time, they are entitled to time off work to update their resume and look for a job. Layoffs occur by reverse seniority within a classification, and temporary employees have to be released first. Employees with at least two years of service have the right to be placed on the recall list, where they are recalled to available work in their own job classification or in lower-paid classifications for which they are qualified, according to seniority. Laid-off employees receive severance pay of two weeks per year of service for up to four years of service, and three weeks per year beyond that.

If your workplace isn’t listed here and you have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at jean@cmg.ca .