Settlement means new opportunities
for employee of colour
Canadian
Media Guild | CWA Canada
Local 30213
A settlement has been reached with
CBC management on the first grievance ever filed on
the "Employment Equity and Diversity in the Workplace" provision
of the collective agreement.
The grievance was filed after
an employee was not offered a position even though
work she had been performing, and for which she had
been praised, was to continue for a time. The employee
had been working continuously at CBC for nearly three
years on a non-permanent basis.
The Canadian Media Guild made the
claim that she should have been given special consideration
for the continuing work because she was at least
as qualified as others seeking the work and a woman
of colour in a classification and area where people
of colour are under-represented.
The employment equity provision
in the collective agreement states that the "parties recognize the
need to foster greater diversity in the workplace and
in our programming" and requires special consideration
of employees from under-represented groups, such as
people of colour, people with disabilities and Aboriginal
people, who seek positions and promotions and who are
as qualified as the other candidates.
During talks to settle the grievance, CBC management
continued to disagree that it had violated the collective
agreement but worked hard nevertheless in a spirit
of co-operation with the Guild to come up with an arrangement
that guarantees temporary and freelance work to the
employee over the next year. The arrangement provides
an opportunity to work and train in an area of interest
to her where there may be a need in the near future
for qualified candidates.
For more information, contact the Canadian Media
Guild (info@cmg.ca) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149 or write
to Michael D'Souza, the Equity and Human Rights director
on the Guild's CBC executive, at dsouzam@sympatico.ca .