The Guild met with Shaw management last week for our first joint committee meeting since the new agreement was reached. We wanted to bring forward concerns that have been raised among members about miscommunication and fairness in the Media Processing department. We also asked about how recent developments in the broadcast industry might affect Shaw’s specialty operations.
With all the changes in the media, it is very important that all members have equal access to training and career development opportunities to stay on top of the changing nature of our work. It is also essential that members receive the same information at the same time from management, especially when it relates to changes in their everyday work. If you have any concerns about access to training or opportunities, please talk to a member of the Guild executive or get in touch with Karen Wirsig (karen@cmg.ca) at the national office of the Guild. Karen is filling in for the staff representative who usually works with members at Shaw, Terri Monture, while Terri is on leave.
Training underway in Media Processing
The management team assured the Guild that they are working on improving communication in Media Processing and are undertaking detailed cross-training in the department so that each member of the department can learn all aspects of the work. Each employee in the department will have the chance to train a colleague and will earn the training premium outlined in Article 6.03 of the collective agreement.
Shaw says no to immediate salary adjustments
Unfortunately, management is choosing not to bring salaries in that department closer into line immediately. As you may recall, we have new salary scales that will help, over the next 2.5 years, close the salary gap in the group that includes Media Processing, Master Control and Presentation. We have long argued that people doing the same work should earn the same, and we urged management to use their discretion to move any employee with more than five years’ seniority to the top of the new scale immediately if they are not already there. They said no. As per the collective agreement, people who are not at the top of their salary scale will move to the next step on May 1 of each year of the agreement.
CRTC news expected early next year
Management advised us that they expect to hear about CRTC decisions resulting from this fall’s Talk TV hearings in February or March. These decisions could have a negative impact on Shaw’s specialty TV operations as well as on the overall financial health of the company. We understand the company will do a full briefing to staff once the CRTC issues its decision.
Update on grievances
The two grievances filed last spring on behalf of two members laid off outside of seniority have been referred to arbitration and we are in the midst of scheduling hearing dates. We will keep you informed of the developments.
Launch of Shomi
Finally, the new video streaming venture by Shaw and Rogers, Shomi, launched this week. Shomi is being run independently of Shaw. However, Guild members working in presentation have been packaging Canadian original shows and other archived material for the Shomi catalogue, and that type of work is expected to continue. For more about Shomi, visit http://www.shomi.com/.
If you have any questions or concerns about anything, don’t hesitate to speak to any one of us.
Your Guild joint committee members:
Brent Tennant
Karen Graham
Karen Wirsig, Staff Representative (karen@cmg.ca)