Q: How do I get a copy of the current collective agreement between the Canadian Media Guild and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation?

A: Send an e-mail to help.cmgto@gmail.com. You can also download a copy in PDF format via our resources section.

Q: How do I know if I’m a temp or a contract employee?

A. You may be hired on a temporary basis:

• To perform work for specific relief (for example, replacing a person on maternity leave or long term medical leave)
• For emergencies
• To augment permanent staff for special circumstances or events (elections, special broadcasts)
• Excessive amounts of work or special projects

You may not be hired as a temp to avoid filling a vacancy of a full-time job, or to eliminate or displace full-time continuing employees.

Q: How do I know if I’m a temp or a casual employee?

A: There is no such thing as a ‘casual’ employee in our current collective agreement.  Temps hired for less than 13 weeks, on a ‘per occasion’ or ‘as needed’ basis, are sometimes referred to as ‘casuals’ to differentiate them from those temps who have worked more than 13 weeks.

Q: As a temporary employee, when do I qualify for benefits?

Benefits for temporary employees: days off are not a break in service.

Temporary employees who qualify for benefits will not lose them if they are off sick or on annual leave, stat holidays, or any other type of leave granted to employees under the collective agreement (see articles 63 to 75).

All employees who work more than 13 weeks of continuous service are eligible for benefits. Temporary employees who were originally hired for less but who end up working more than 13 weeks, at least four days per week, must be added to the benefits plan after 13 weeks. You continue to qualify as long as you work at least four days per week. However, some employees have lost benefits because an absence due to illness or an approved leave was counted as a break in service.

CMG and CBC management have now clarified that temporary employees who have already qualified for benefits will not be disqualified if they take an approved leave. So be sure to mark any leave on your time cards for days you would normally be on the schedule, even if you don’t get paid for the leave.

At the recent national grievance committee meeting, CBC management confirmed that two temporary employees will be reimbursed for costs they incurred after being denied benefits because their leave counted as a break in service.

If you have been denied benefits and believe you qualify, please get in touch with a member of your location executive or write to help.cmgto@gmail.com.

Temporary employees: make sure your salary is moving on up

Don’t forget that you get to move up a step in your salary scale for each year of service you complete, whether you are permanent, on contract or temporary, even if you don’t work continuously.

The rule is, once you’ve completed 261 days at work, you are eligible to move to the next step.

The national grievance committee is working to make sure everyone who qualifies is progressing along the salary scales. If you are a temporary employee and have worked for the equivalent of a year and have not moved up a step, talk to a member of your Guild location executive or write to info@cmg.ca .

Are you being forced to take annual leave to cope with a personal situation?

The Guild is continuing to gather information from members who have been forced to take annual leave or time off in lieu of overtime for situations that are actually covered under the “special leave” provisions of the collective agreement (see article 72). Special leave is meant to give employees time to cope with family and personal matters that arise during work hours. That way, your annual leave can be used for the purpose for which it was intended: a vacation.

The Guild has filed a national grievance on the issue. If you have been denied special leave but believe you qualify, please get in touch with a member of your location executive or write to help.cmgto@gmail.com.

Q: How do I know if I’m self-assigned?

Self-Assigned

Article 58, pages 201 – 206

If an assignment allows flexibility in arranging hours of work, days of work, and days off, it is recognized that such an arrangement may be self-assigned.  You should have discussed this arrangement with your supervisor, and should have a workload agreement, which should be reviewed every year, to ensure that you do not work for ‘free’.

If there isn’t much flexibility in your daily work – if you have to be at work at a certain time each day, or have a meeting at a certain time each day – you’re daily assigned.

If your assignment allows some flexibility in working hours – start and end times, for instance, you may be weekly scheduled.

Q: Do I get maternity benefits if I’m on contract?

A: Good Question.  We’re looking into it.

Q: Why are most new contracts going to employees in Unit 2 ( former CEP members)?

A: They’re not.  While it may seem there are a lot of new contract jobs in Unit 2, there are even more in the other areas (Unit 1 & 2) that have traditionally used contract hires.  The CBC Branch and the Toronto local of the Guild are monitoring the CBC’s use of contract employees.  The CBC is permitted to fill new or vacant positions as contract jobs as long as the total number of contract employees does not exceed an amount equal to 9.5% of the permanent workforce plus 80 positions.

Q: Can my supervisor ask me to be ‘on call’ when I’m on a legal holiday or day off?

You’re not required to be on call during holidays or days off. You need to know your rights in case you are approached to be “on call.” There is no provision in the collective agreement for being on call, unless you’re in one of only a handful of positions in IT.

If you are scheduled over the holidays for work of any kind – on standby, at home or in the workplace – you should be paid your regular salary plus any overtime or stat holiday pay that applies. This includes being asked to be available for work for specific hours.

The Corporation may canvass employees to see who is not going out of town and might be willing to take a call if something comes up. But you are under no obligation to give your name, nor are you required to take a phone call or come in to work if you should receive a call.

For more information, get in touch a member of your Guild location executive or write to info@cmg.ca .