TVO union workers reject ‘final offer’

TVO Media Education Group's latest offer to end the ongoing strike had included a roughly 7.5% wage increase over three years.

Unionized workers at TVO have rejected the latest offer from the TVO Media Education Group amid an ongoing strike.

Members of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) rejected what the pubcaster described as its “final offer” in negotiations for the collective agreement, which expired Oct. 27, 2022. Union members, including producers, journalists and education workers, have been on strike since Aug. 21.

“Our members have spoken: three more years of losing wages to inflation after a decade of real wage cuts is not acceptable,” said CMG president Annick R. Forest and CMG-TVO branch president Meredith Martin in a joint statement on Monday (Oct. 2). “CMG members at TVO have been on strike for six weeks, and after careful consideration of TVO’s latest offer of three more years of real wage cuts, they voted this weekend to reject it.”

TVO Media Education Group’s latest offer, made public on Thursday (Sept. 28) included a roughly 7.5% increase in wages over a three-year period. TVO had previously offered 6.75% in wage increases over three years.

“I am disappointed that our CMG employees voted not to accept TVO’s final offer. Unfortunately, this will serve to prolong the strike, which now enters a new and uncharted phase,” said TVO CEO Jeffrey L. Orridge in a statement.

“With the vote this weekend, this chapter of the negotiations has come to an end,” he continued. “Although TVO has tabled its best and final monetary offer, should CMG have a non-monetary proposal regarding any issue that it feels will help us resolve this strike, TVO is ready to meet and discuss the proposal in an effort to bring our CMG employees back to work.”

The offer, made public on Thursday (Sept. 28), included a concession from TVO regarding contract workers, as well as an offer to create a training program for CMG employees. Members voted on the offer between Friday (Sept. 29) and Sunday.

“From the start, TVO management has made their position clear that binding arbitration should only be used as a last resort. CMG members feel that if TVO refuses to negotiate their wages further, then binding arbitration appears to be the only path forward,” said Forest and Martin. “If TVO management continues to refuse to treat its employees fairly, the Minister of Education or Premier Doug Ford should step in and force them to accept binding arbitration, where a neutral third party can decide what’s fair to both parties.”

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