Guild moves forward to resolve workplace issues for Unit 2 & 3 members
(Report of the Unit 2 & 3 national grievance committees)
In Halifax, CBC has assigned chyron functions to a director without creating a hybrid job. The grievance has been referred to arbitration.
As reported in a recent communique, the Guild is arbitrating the CBC’s refusal to pay a member back pay for the period it refused to take the employee back from sick leave and accommodate the member’s disability.
A Fredericton grievance regarding the filling of a hybrid switcher/director job with a candidate from outside the location has been settled. The CBC has agreed to set aside a one-time training fund of $10,000 for the benefit of the most senior person displaced in any Fredericton layoff who wishes training. The deal will stay in effect until the expiry of the new contract currently being negotiated..
Last year, we advised that CBC had suspended a member in presentation for an on-air fault. The grievance was scheduled for arbitration. CBC finally relented and reinstated the three days in lost pay. As in all settlements in this report, the CBC does not admit any wrongdoing and there is no precedent set.
CBC also agreed to settle a promotion grievance, and will promote an Ottawa member to the position of recording engineer.
In the spring, CBC agreed to reinstate an employee’s annual leave because the member broke his foot while on holiday.
As a result of a grievance regarding use of freelancers, CBC has agreed to remind management that freelancers should not be engaged for support-level functions such as TV Assistant.
A settlement regarding second meal breaks during CFL games was reached. The practice of moving the breaks to the end of the shift subject to mutual agreement of the crew and the Technical Producer may continue. Under these cirumstances, the CBC would provide a snack during the shift.
We are still awaiting a decision from arbitrator Pam Chapman regarding the Olympic expense allowance grievance.
Unit 3
Earlier this year, we reported that CBC unilaterally reassigned a member whose job was made redundant to temporary work. The employer refused to allow the member to exercise her right to alternative employment or to accept a layoff. CBC met with her without union representation. CBC has now agreed that the member can exercise her layoff rights.
There is still a backlog of more than 100 grievances regarding the Corporation’s refusal to include jobs in the bargaining unit. The CBC continues to put jobs (mostly in IT and Sales) that are not supervisory or professional into the APS bargaining unit. We also have an complaint before the Canada Industrial Relations Board on this matter.
