4/29/2004

Companies in this story Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada Articles in related categories Labor/union news

OTTAWA - Global Television News and its employees in Toronto and Ottawa will soon meet with the assistance of a federal conciliation officer since contract talks broke down on April 15 when the company and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union could not reach agreement on wages, benefits, pension and contract language, says a CEP news release issued this week.

A federal conciliation officer appointed to assist the company and union will be scheduling meetings within the next sixty days. Newsroom employees, including; reporters, producers, camera operators, editors, and other editorial staff have been without a new agreement since October 1, 2025.

"The parties applied jointly for conciliation to speed up the process," says CEP national representative David Lewington. "The company rejected our demands for contract improvements even though Global's competitors, and its other stations, already provide their employees with better terms and conditions."

Global Television has advised the union that it intends to introduce new digital technology over the next six months, says the release, and the union says the company has sent mixed messages about its commitment to affected employees.

"The employer won't agree that what it is doing is a technological change even though functions will be replaced by new technology," says Lewington.

The union's 160 members in these two centres "have told their representatives that vision care, orthodontic care and pension entitlements need to be brought up to comparable industry standards," says the union release.

"Global's response was to tell employees to pay for their own vision care, and a flat no to improvements in dental and pension," added Lewington. "Global can afford to do better."
 
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