TORONTO — Dozens of workers at Ontario’s public broadcaster walked off the job Monday morning.
“We are deeply saddened to have not been able to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with our employer,” wrote the Canadian Media Guild in a press release.
The union represents around 70 journalists, producers and education workers at the Ontario organization. Some employees at the broadcaster are represented by Unifor and are not part of the current bargaining process.
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Earlier in August, almost 96 per cent of CMG members at TVO rejected an offer from the employer.
The workers have been in a legal strike position since Friday morning.
One of the main sticking points is the use of contracts to fill permanent positions, the union previously said. It has also said the wages on offer are well below what’s needed for workers to catch up to inflation.
Members have received below-inflation wage increases for the past 10 years, including three years of complete wage freezes, CMG said in a previous press release.
They deserve meaningful increases after seeing their wages capped by the one per cent limit imposed by Bill 124, the union said. Bill 124 was declared unconstitutional last year.
TVO airs current affairs shows including “The Agenda with Steve Paikin,” but also has a mandate to provide learning resources that follow the provincial school curriculum.
The Ministry of Education has given an order to only create temporary contract jobs at TVO, even for permanent work, the union said, adding that it has been told it won’t get a deal without this concession.
“These are public sector jobs that the government is trying to turn into gig work and CMG members at TVO cannot abide it,” the union said in a statement on Tuesday.
“By keeping workers in precarious contracts, TVO is denying workers health benefits, dismantling job security, and impairing the stability needed to deliver strong public services for all Ontarians.”
TVO could not be immediately reached for comment.
