Guild members at Thomson Reuters in Toronto met today to discuss the next steps after last week’s unfortunate announcement from management about the elimination of the Toronto online desk.

First, we would like to make it clear that the Guild was not involved in any discussions with management about plans for the online desk before Thursday’s announcement. Second, management did not follow the collective agreement when it gave individual employees layoff notices on that day. It is important to note that even if you received a notice that your job is being eliminated, you still have rights under the collective agreement (see more about that below). There is absolutely no requirement for you to sign a waiver with management to ensure your rights are respected.

Here are a few more things you need to know:

Permanent employees

Our collective agreement says that employees will be laid off in reverse order of seniority in a given classification. In other words, those with more seniority who have the qualifications, knowledge, skill, training and ability to do one of the jobs that remain in their classification should not receive a layoff notice. We are therefore treating any notice you received last week as a notice that your job is being made redundant and will look at opportunities for you to be redeployed if you wish.

Your Guild executive will be involved in the process every step of the way to ensure it’s fair to everyone. If you received a notice last week and are interested in staying on at Thomson Reuters, please forward an updated resume in full confidence to Guild staff representative Glenn Gray (glenn@cmg.ca) by January 9, 2012.

All permanent employees should also check their seniority date with human resources to ensure that it is accurate and includes all uninterrupted service with Reuters in Canada, including any time as a temporary or “contract” employee.

Temporary, or “contract,” employees

The Guild has been told that six temporary employees on the Toronto online desk will be affected by the shift of work to Bangalore. To ensure that your rights are being respected, we urge you to send Guild staff representative Glenn Gray (glenn@cmg.ca) your work history at Thomson Reuters in Canada, including your start date as a temporary or contract employee and any breaks of service you have had since you started.

Discussions continue with management

We are continuing to meet with management to clarify several issues, including the status of the promised “completion bonuses,” and the possibility of taking measures – including offering voluntary layoff packages – to minimize involuntary layoffs.

We will continue to keep you informed of all developments. In the meantime, please speak to any one of us or get in touch with Glenn Gray (glenn@cmg.ca) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.

Your Guild executive:
Brice Hall, President
Helen Cook
Julie Gordon
Stephanie Kranjec