Does the CBC want to be able to hire and fire employees at will? Or does Canada’s public broadcaster simply need the same ‘flexibility’ enjoyed by private broadcasters – namely, to acquire talent as needed to produce new shows, and to release this same talent when these shows don’t pan out?

This dichotomy sums up what is rapidly becoming the chief bone of contention between the CBC and its union, the Canadian Media Guild. Since May, the CBC and CMG have been negotiating for a new contract for the CMG’s approximately 6,000 members. The CMG has been the sole union for most of CBC’s employees since December 2003, when it defeated the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union in a hard-fought election. This is the CMG’s first contract negotiation with the CBC since winning that election.

According to the CMG’s website, the CBC’s contract proposal ‘has set the stage for the elimination of permanent jobs at the CBC. The Corporation seeks, without limitation, the power to place on contract virtually all new employees in departments such as news, current affairs, IT and sales and marketing.

‘These contractual employees would have far fewer rights under the collective agreement,’ it continues. ‘They could be terminated without cause. These new positions would not be posted. Most would not come with a defined work week; meal and break periods may not apply and neither would days off and overtime.’

All new hires temps?

Arnold Amber, president of the CMG’s CBC branch and a member of the CMG-CBC bargaining committee, is fearful for the future of his membership.

‘Under this permissive clause, the CBC would be able to hire everybody new into contract or temp status,’ he says. ‘If a show is canceled and you happen to have a bad manager, you could end up losing your job, rather than being retained for the replacement program.’

CBC spokesperson Jason MacDonald, meanwhile, has a very different view of the CBC’s contract proposal.

‘It’s about creating the flexibility we need to meet our future business requirements,’ he explains.

He adds that in a changing broadcast world, where programming trends can be short-lived, the Corporation needs the flexibility to ‘hire the right people with the right skills or experience’ as needed for series, miniseries or one-offs. It also needs the freedom to let them go if warranted, so that public money can be put towards newer, more promising projects.

‘What we’re looking to do is expand the existing provisions around our ability to hire contract, temporary and freelance employees,’ MacDonald says. ‘This is not about eliminating permanent positions and the proposal on the table won’t affect existing staff… This [proposal] doesn’t mean that there will never be another permanent position again.’

As for the CMG’s charge that the CBC’s proposal will seriously erode workplace rights?

‘It is simply not the case that contractual, temporary and freelance staff would have no rights with our proposal,’ says MacDonald. ‘In fact… we already hire contractual, temporary and freelance staff, and their work conditions do include meal and break periods, days off, overtime and other related benefits.’

For his part, Amber is surprised by the CBC’s call for more ‘flexibility’ in the hiring and firing of staff. ‘In our current contract, the CBC already has the flexibility to bring in temporary employees and long-term contractors,’ he says.

But apparently not enough, the Corp feels. ‘Some of the provisions [in the current contract] prevent us from hiring freelancers for [series, minis and one-offs],’ MacDonald says.

The dispute underlines how differently the CBC and the CMG view the future of public broadcasting. For the CBC, its survival demands the right to play by the same rules as most major private broadcasters: if a show works, the staff stays; if not, they’re gone. However, MacDonald denies the CMG’s charge that existing staffers won’t have a chance at new positions. ‘Vacancies will still be posted the way they are today,’ he says. ‘They will be open to permanent staff.’

For the CMG, the goal is to protect the right of its members to have meaningful, secure jobs at Canada’s public broadcaster.

‘The idea of a permanent career at the CBC is not necessarily a strange idea,’ Amber says. He adds that, with the 1996 union contract specifying that ‘all ongoing work at the CBC would be done by permanent employees, why would we take a step backwards now?’

It remains unclear whether the CBC will be willing to step back at all from its stance in order to broker a deal with the union.

‘It’s early days in the negotiating process,’ Amber notes. MacDonald counters: ‘We are committed to working with the CMG and to the collective bargaining process.’

However, the projected $55 million to $60 million in ad revenues the CBC would lose if the current National Hockey League lockout extends over the entire 2004/05 season may strengthen the Corp’s resolve. The pubcaster has reportedly let go of about 50 employees who are CMG members on the heels of the NHL labor dispute.

If there was ever a time for CBC management to take a hard line with its union, it would be now, but how inflexible the Corp is in its call for ‘flexibility’ will become clearer in the coming weeks.

-www.cmg.ca

-www.cbc.ca