Arbitrator to decide pay issues related to 2005 lockout
Arbitrator Daniel Ish will decide whether temporary, laid-off and retired employees are eligible to receive post-lockout retroactive pay. Ish will also decide whether CBC management had the right to deny some temporary employees pay for October 7 and 10, 2005. The hearing on both issues will take place in Toronto on December 20 and 21 and January 15.
The first question to be answered relates to whether certain employees who did not return to work at the end of the lockout, but who worked at any time in the period between the expiry of the previous collective agreements in April 2004 and the ratification of the new agreement in October 2005, are eligible for retroactive pay. The Guild believes that any employee who retired, worked as a temporary or was laid off during that period should receive retroactive pay for the time they worked.
The second question relates to the fact that CBC management denied pay for October 7 and 10 to some temporary employees who worked before the lockout and returned to their regular schedule in the week following the lockout. The Guild negotiating committee had agreed to allow some employees to return to work in order to begin maintenance and for a couple of sports broadcasts before the new agreement was ratified and before the return-to-work date of October 11. In return, the CBC agreed to put all locked-out employees back on the payroll for October 7 and for the Thanksgiving Holiday, October 10. After lengthy discussions with the Corporation on the issue, we have been unable to reach an agreement on most of the cases where temporary employees were denied the pay for those days.
The Guild’s national grievance committee nonetheless settled four of eight outstanding grievances with the Corporation since September.
The settlements were on behalf of individual members and resolved issues of improper job classification, improper hiring, wrongful dismissal, and workforce adjustment. The remaining four grievances have been referred to arbitration.
The Branch Executive Committee has selected a new National Grievance Committee Representative to replace Gerry Jones, who retired from the CBC. John O’Connor is the new representative for the Prairies and the North.
Your National Grievance Committee: Elaine Janes, Chair – Atlantic Representative doubleej@hotmail.com Bob Waller – Toronto Representative bobbywaller@hotmail.com Karin Wells – Ontario Representative karin5237@hotmail.com John O’Connor – Prairies & the North Representative dldigital@sasktel.net Philippe Bourbeau – British Columbia & SRC Representative bourbeap@hotmail.com Bruce May, CMG Staff Representative bruce@cmg.ca
