The CBC branch executive has created a committee to meet with senior management at Radio-Canada’s French services four times per year, as set out in the CBC-CMG collective agreement.

The committee members are: Pierre Claveau, Marc-Phillipe Laurin, Paul B?langer, Philippe Bourbeau, Monick Corriveau and Gabriel Durocher. For the past few months, Radio-Canada has been represented by Sylvain Lafrance, the vice president of radio, television and new media, who is typically accompanied by some of his media directors and the head of industrial relations at SRC.

It is clear that union-management relations outside of Qu?bec are not always harmonious. Our francophone members have complained numerous times about management inertia when it comes to hiring policies for replacement staff, under-funding of regional services, and the heavy workloads that are often created by these factors and by the implementation of SRC’s new media integration policy across the country.

That is why meetings among the leaders are so important. They allow the Guild to raise the concerns of our members directly with SRC senior management?And what is most encouraging is that senior management has proven several times that it is taking our critiques seriously.

During our last meeting, on October 17, we again discussed concerns about the implementation of media integration in the regions. Sylvain Lafrance repeated that Radio-Canada management wants to proceed with caution in all regions of the country precisely to avoid imposing unjustified workload increases on our members.

It is now up to you, in each region, to be vigilant and to report any examples to us that appear to contradict senior management’s statement on the issue. We also plan to hold a special meeting with Lafrance and his team to discuss workloads in the regions. Your input will be key to the success of that meeting.

Finally, it must be said that the relationship between the Guild and management of the
French services at SRC is diametrically opposed to our relationship with CBC management. While we are still trying to create some openings for positive communication with the CBC, our meetings with SRC management have taken place, since Lafrance was appointed vice president, in a context of openness and collaboration. That impression is shared by the leaders of most of the other SRC unions in Qu?bec. It doesn’t mean that everything is perfect?but at least the lines of communication are open and accessible when we need to discuss problems we are facing in our respective regions. And that’s a big step forward when it comes to union-management relations.

Pierre Claveau
President, SRC Committee