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03 October 2005
Agreement improves contract,
temporary
workers' rights;
provides
12.6% across-the-board wage increase
Canadian
Media Guild | TNG Canada
Local 30213
With the new collective agreement, the
Canadian Media Guild has established that a permanent workforce
will be the standard at the CBC. The CMG has successfully
beat back the Corporation's attempt to radically alter the
staffing model by creating a revolving door of contract employees.
This is a significant victory for CMG members and for public
broadcasting and will serve as a benchmark for others in
the labour movement.
Here is a summary of what is in the new contract (not including
articles signed off prior to the past week):
THE EMPLOYMENT STATUS LANGUAGE includes contract employees
as a fixed percentage of permanent staff. The CBC will be
allowed to hire up to 9.5 per cent of the permanent workforce
on contract plus an additional 80 jobs. What this means is
that, for every 100 permanent employees, there will no more
than 9.5 contract workers. This ratio must be maintained
for a full 15 months beyond the life of the collective agreement
until June 30, 2010. The Guild now has a clear mechanism
for controlling the number of contract employees.
Improved Rights for Contract Employees:
- Contract employees who have been on contract for four
years will be allowed to convert to staff if they wish.
Any contract employee who has four years of service on
ratification will be allowed to convert immediately.
- The approximately 90 contract
employees now working in Television A&E, Radio Drama
and Comedy and Sports will also have, for the first time,
the opportunity to convert to staff. Those who remain
on contract cannot be terminated during their contracts
except for just cause or lack of work.
- Contract employees will have access to pension after
two years of employment including a buyback option. This
buyback option will also apply to any contract employee
who chooses to convert to staff.
- Contract employees will be entitled to severance pay.
- Contract employees who have worked five consecutive contracts
of nine or more months but less than one year for five
consecutive years will be credited with actual time worked
for seniority purposes at the time of hiring into a permanent
position.
Improved Rights for Temporary Employees:
- Temporary staff may be hired for relief, backfill, emergencies
and augmentation. The corporation will not use temporary
hiring as a way to displace, delay or avoid hiring
of permanent employees or to deny temporary employees'
rights.
- Temporary employees who have worked in the same position
in the same location and component for 18 months will
be allowed to convert to staff. A break of a week or
less will not count as a break in service.
- Temporary employees will accrue seniority for use in
progression on salary scales and upon becoming permanent.
- Temporary employees will be paid for a minimum shift
of a full day unless they are filling in for someone who
works reduced hours.
- Temporary employees of 13 weeks or longer will have access
to sick leave benefits. They will no longer have to re-qualify
if they have a break in service of less than 13 weeks.
- A break of four weeks or less between the end of one
period of work and the beginning of another will not constitute
a break in service for seniority. No pre-approval required.
There will be a full jointly-conducted review within 90
days of ratification of all non-permanent staff to ensure
they have been properly hired and are receiving the appropriate
rights and benefits.
On WORKFORCE ADJUSTMENT (which includes layoff and recall),
there is new and better language on occupational qualifications
which creates a fair standard for redeployment or displacement
in the event of a downsizing. There are grandfathering provisions
for protected employees.
The two sides could not reach agreement on the process for
redeployment and displacement, so that issue has been referred
to the National Joint Committee to reach a resolution. In
the interim, the processes in the former collective agreements
will apply.
Wages:
- Across-the-board increases for a total of 12.6 per cent
for the life of the collective agreement; broken down
as 2.5 per cent for 2004, 2.5 per cent for 2005, 2.1
per cent for 2006, 2.5 per cent for 2007, and 3.0 per
cent for 2008. The duration of the contract will be
to March 31, 2009.
- There will be full retroactivity to April 1, 2004 for
everyone (including both short- and long-term temps and
contract employees) on payroll at the time of the lockout.
- Signing bonus of $1,000.
- Freelancers will receive the same across-the-board increases
except for 2006 which is 2.5 per cent, not 2.1 per cent,
for a total of 13 per cent over the life of the agreement.
- There will be $20 million (including a $5-million contribution
from the corporation) for Job Evaluation retroactivity
and an additional $2.6 million for implementation. This
money will be disbursed in mid-January 2006.
Other Improvements:
- Employees will be entitled to five weeks
of vacation after 18 years of service, an improvement
over the previous 20-year rule.
- Severance pay at retirement will be maintained for all
existing employees and will include anyone on contract
who converts to staff after ratification. People hired
after ratification will not be eligible for severance on
retirement.
- A premium of $800 a year will be paid to those employees
who are required to work in aboriginal languages.
(This story first appeared on the Canadian
Media Guild web site.)
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