There is a lot happening in our union this spring…
National CBC/Radio-Canada Branch Committees
Over 40 people applied to do committee work, and we thank all those willing to get more involved. The new National Temporary Workers Committee and Workday Committee have been filled for the first time, and some vacant seats on other committees are now filled. You can see who is on all our national committees here.
The new Workday committee begins this month, meeting with management to identify issues still occurring with the Workday HR system implemented by CBC/Radio-Canada over a year ago. If you have experienced a problem with the way Workday functions, please email WORKDAYCBCISSUES@cmg.ca so that the committee can bring your concerns forward.
Ratification Updates
CMG submitted an unfair labour practice complaint at the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to ensure that full disclosure occurred during bargaining. Watch for further updates when we hear back from the board.
During bargaining, we settled the outstanding Job Evaluation complaint for Associate Producers (APs), regarding an additional time period we felt deserved retroactive pay. This means that over 500 APs will receive an additional sum of approximately $560 (pre-tax) on their June 27/24 paycheque.
The new benefits program for Short Term Temporary Workers will not be fully implemented until July 1/24. In the interim period (April 1- June 30), keep receipts of any benefits needed and submit them in July. Please understand that accessing benefits (if you are eligible under the new rules) will mean that part of the 12.5% payment in lieu of pension & benefits ( ~4%) will be clawed back from July paycheques.
Despite pressure from employees, the Retroactive Lump Sum for wage increases in 2022 and 2023 (owed to all active employees as of April 1/24) will not be paid until the August 22/24 payday. Management told us this delay is due to the complications involved in calculating individual amounts across two pay systems.
CBC/Radio-Canada Branch Local Presidents Council 2024
Almost 60 Local Presidents, CBC/Radio-Canada Branch national executives, union scholarship recipients, bargaining team members, CMG staff and some CMG National executives all attended the Presidents’ Council meeting May 24-26 in Port Stanton, north of Toronto. The full plenary participated in full-day trainings, and various meetings about implementing the new collective agreement, defending CBC/Radio-Canada, regional caucuses, and more. Everyone left with a renewed sense of unity and commitment to create the best union we can going forward.
Pension Surplus Sharing Update
Unfortunately, there is still no update from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). Although it was one year ago we won the arbitration that gave us these unprecedented shares of a pension plan surplus, it’s important to remember that the first six months were spent acquiring regulated authorizations from thousands of pension plan members. CBC/Radio-Canada management has been in contact with OSFI and posted an update on iO recently, confirming the good news that 2023 was also a surplus year for our pension plan. We will share an update as soon as we know more.
CBC/ Radio-Canada Branch By-Election
We welcome Elke Semerad as our new Ontario Director on the CBC/Radio-Canada Branch Executive! The Vice President seat will be contested in a by-election, with an online vote between June 20 – 25. There are two candidates – Anis Heydari and Karina Roman. Please watch cmg.ca and your Guild emails for more information.
Local Elections Autumn 2024
Locally elected union positions will be open for nominations this fall in each location unit across CBC/Radio-Canada. Please watch for emails about the election process and timeframe and consider running for a seat. Most importantly, seek out information on your local candidates, and VOTE! Remember that local elections happen every two years, CBC/Radio-Canada Branch & CMG National executive elections happen every 3 years, and CWA Canada elections every four years; 2023 was a rare year where all the levels of our union had elections at the same time.
We wish you all a good summer, and we’re always here for you when you need union support.
In Solidarity,
CBC Branch Executive Committee