2015.05.25 | CWA Canada Local 30400 | Media and Communications Workers of Alberta
Alberta Local fights plan to ship newspaper jobs to India
CWA Canada members who work as graphic artists at the Medicine Hat News are hoping their union can head off company plans to outsource their jobs to a foreign country.
Mary-Ann Barr, president of the Media and Communications Workers of Alberta, said discussions that are mandated in the collective agreement are already under way, with the objective of getting the company to reverse the decision to move some of the newspaper’s work to India.
“The employees are developing alternate cost-cutting measures that, if accepted by the company, would save jobs in Medicine Hat and invigorate a well-read and well-respected newspaper.”
CWA Canada staff representative David Wilson is helping the Local use its contract language to protect the jobs.
“We are hopeful a solution can be found that will benefit the company, employees and community,” said Barr.
The Alberta News Goup (ANG) announced in an editorial published in its Medicine Hat News on Friday that, as of July 28, it intends to contract out local advertising design to a company in India.
“This would result in four to five local full-time graphic artist jobs lost at the newspaper,” where the union represents about 45 employees in all departments but the pressroom, said Barr. “This decision comes at a very difficult time when jobs all across Alberta are being lost daily due to the downturn in our oil economy.”
Reaction from the community was swift after the story was picked up by CHAT TV in Medicine Hat. Many people posting on the station’s Facebook page were angry at the newspaper for sending good local jobs out of the country and threatened to cancel their subscriptions.
Across the ANG chain of publications, according to one source, about 14 people would lose their jobs. For most of them, it will be a distressing life-changing event that will escape public notice.
One commenter claimed to work for another publication owned by ANG “and the same is happening to us but we are to (sic) irrelevant to mention!”
“Sadly, the people who aren’t unionized have no voice,” said Barr.
The union said in a news release that it wanted to “sincerely thank readers and advertisers for their concern and support.”
But it advised against retaliatory measures such as boycotts and subscription cancellations: “Please continue to support the Medicine Hat News, but let the company know that ‘local’ matters to you.”
For interviews or more information, contact Mary-Ann Barr at 587-876-4166 or David Wilson at 613-850-5423.