Two days of conciliation yielded
little monetary progress for unionized employees at
The Ottawa Citizen, many of whom have borne the brunt
of the newspaper's budget-slashing measures in recent
years.
"The bargaining team was disappointed
when the last (monetary) offer by the company wasn't
much different than the previous proposal," says
Lois Kirkup, president of the Ottawa Newspaper Guild. "We
knew that our membership would be grossly insulted
by that."
In requesting a no-board report from the conciliator
and scheduling mediation for Sept. 8 and 9, the ONG
is entering unfamiliar territory. On Sept. 10, 17 days
after the conciliator's report is filed on Aug. 25,
the parties will be in an open position, which means
that a strike or lockout would be legal.
Kirkup says the Guild opted
for mediation "in
order to move bargaining along to the next level."
By the end of the two days of conciliation, says CWA
Canada staff representative David Esposti, all but
one of the employer's takebacks were off the table.
The lingering issue has to do with bylines.
Aside from that, "it's about the money," says
Esposti.
The Guild is determined to win significant wage increases
for its members who have been increasingly overburdened
as the newspaper reduced staff numbers. The employer
has so far been offering less than the three-per-cent
inflation rate.
The bargaining team is getting very strong support
from the membership, notes Kirkup. She expects a large
turnout at a meeting that's been called for Sept. 7,
the day before mediation begins.
The ONG represents 206 employees who work in editorial,
circulation, financial services, maintenance and in-house
printing.