Sylvain Laroque photo

The tentative agreement with The Canadian Press/Broadcast
News was reached by bargaining committee members
(clockwise from left) Terry Pedwell, Ken Trimble, Scott
Edmonds, Sylvain Laroque, CMG staff rep Kathy Viner,
and Colin Perkel.

17 May 2007

National news co-op employees
ratify 3-year agreement

Canadian Media Guild | CWA Canada Local 30213

Members of the Canadian Media Guild who work at The Canadian Press/Broadcast News have voted 83 per cent in favour of ratifying a tentative collective agreement.

The national vote, held Tuesday and Wednesday, was conducted via the Internet, which allowed members who are on leave or on assignment to participate. The results were announced this morning.

The three-year agreement contains wage increases of 3.0, 2.0 and 3.25 per cent, plus improvements to vision care and paramedical benefits.

In an earlier communiqué to members, the bargaining committee explained that the wage increase would not be retroactive to the contract's expiry date of Dec. 31, 2006:

"Your bargaining committee believes the settlement is a good one. We agreed to forgo retroactivity and split the increases in order to achieve higher increases in base salary rates over the three-year term of the agreement. Close to 40 per cent of any retroactive money might have been lost to income taxes. Also, further retroactive money could have pushed some of you into a higher tax bracket given the 2006 retro payment everyone received in February.

" ... we went into these talks seeking additional compensation for employees who face new demands such as video. We feel the adjustment in editorial salaries before the general rate increase is applied goes part way to compensating for those demands."

As of July 1, all Editorial Group 1 (news editor) and Group 3 (reporter/editor, national photographer, foreign correspondent, photo editor, photographer/photo editor) salary levels will be adjusted upwards. Group 1 increases a maximum of $14.79 a week to $1,510.16. Group 3 will increase by $12.88 to: Start - $806.99; 1 year - $891.69; 2 years - $976.40; 3 years - $1,069.21; 4 years - $1,157.93; 5 years - $1,300.62.

In addition, as of July 1, all employees will receive a three-per-cent salary increase. In 2008, a one-per-cent increase is applied on Jan. 1, followed by another one per cent on July 1; a 1.5-per-cent increase takes effect Jan. 1, 2009, with a further 1.75 per cent on July 1.

As of this July 1, the vision care benefit increases to $250 every two years from the current $170 and the maximum claim under the health plan for paramedical services (chiropractor, massage, acupuncture, etc.) increases to $300 per claimant, from the current $200.

The new collective agreement also contains reworked language to address major out-of-town assignments, shift premiums, jurisdiction and issues specific to the Montreal bureau.

(This is an edited compilation of several stories that were posted on the Canadian Media Guild website.)