CBC announced today how its news renewal plan will be rolled out across the country. In addition, CBC gave some more detail on how CBC News will deal with its share of the Corporation’s overall $171 million budget shortfall.
News renewal involves further integration of news across radio, TV and online, both at the network and the regional levels. It will mean reassignments for approximately 50 employees to newly created positions.
In addition, CBC News will lose 76 positions across the country, a number that is already included in the total 800 job cuts announced for CBC and Radio-Canada in late March. The 76 positions are slated to come from regional TV and radio news, national TV news and current affairs, international bureaus, technical services, administration and management.
The precise details of who will be affected by the cuts and reassignments are still not known, and will not be known until mid-May, after the CBC determines how many people will participate in the voluntary retirement incentive program. In other words, as with the cuts already announced in late March, we continue to await the final list of positions to be eliminated in each location and department. We expect that list to come in mid-May.
In the meantime, we have prepared answers to frequently asked questions about how the cuts might affect you so that you can be prepared. The FAQ explains the layoff, bumping and recall processes, as well as where to go for financial advice and who to talk to in the Guild. Click here to view the FAQ: http://www.cmg.ca/CBCFAQjobcutsEN.pdf .
“The Guild is concerned about the loss of 76 jobs in news,” says Marc-Philippe Laurin, president of the CBC branch of the CMG. “At a time when Canadians want more news and current affairs, it is unfortunate that years of government neglect, on top of the current economic crisis, are forcing a cut of CBC’s local and national news resources. As many parliamentary reports have concluded, the true solution for this ongoing problem is improved public funding for the public broadcaster.”
If you have not done so already, please visit www.cmg.ca/CBCmorethanever.htm and join the campaign to tell Parliament that we need a strong and vital CBC, now more than ever.
If you have any questions or concerns, get in touch with a member of your local Guild executive or with the national Guild office at info@cmg.ca or by calling 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.