Printer friendly version

Broadcaster

CBC lays off nine in Maritimes

8/6/2004

TORONTO - At least nine CBC television employees in the Atlantic region received notice yesterday that their positions have been declared redundant, the Canadian Media Guild reported today.

The jobs identified are four technical, two producers and one administrative position in Halifax, plus one announcer/host/anchor in Saint John and one director spot in Fredericton.

Seven of the positions are held by permanent employees, and two are held by people on contract. The union says it is awaiting word on whether this is the final list of redundancies. The CBC's regional director of TV in the Atlantic region, Ron Crocker, blames the layoff on "the increasing costs of doing business" across the Corporation.

Canadian Media Guild staff representative Gerry Whelan has met with the majority of CMG members affected, and there has been one preliminary meeting with management. "This latest layoff is not just about the nine positions named today; it's about the ongoing reduction in staff that began earlier this year with the cancellation of Health Matters, The Docket and Disclosure, plus the elimination of the Maritime correspondent for Country Canada," says Whelan, referring to CBC English Television's most recent round of layoffs.

On Monday, the next phase in the layoff process will get under way, with a joint union/management meeting set to take place in Halifax; other meetings are planned for Fredericton and Saint John later in the week, said the CMG press release.

The goal of these meetings, which are mandated by the CMG-CBC collective agreement, is to try to reduce the number of people who will be forced to leave the Corporation, by seeking vacant positions or other ways to place dislocated people.

"I am encouraged to see that regional director Ron Crocker says he is exploring all options to reduce the impact of the layoff," says CMG president Lise Lareau. "We will work actively with the CBC to ensure this is the case."

Back to headlines