CBC locks out 5,500 employees - radio and TV programmes affected

Canada's national public broadcaster, CBC, has locked out about 5,500 employees as of midnight Sunday, after no substantial progress was made in last-minute bargaining between the CBC and its union, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG).

The workers have been without a contract for more than a year, with the CBC saying it needs more flexibility to hire new staff on a contract basis instead of full-time. The CMG, which represents producers, newsroom staff and technicians, says 30 per cent of the CBC's workforce is already non-permanent, giving the network all the flexibility it needs.

The CBC says that programming on all its services - radio, television and online - will continue, though it will be scaled back. Local radio morning shows will be replaced by a single national broadcast. TV newscasts will be pared down, and there will be more acquired programming and movies.

CBC employees in Quebec and Moncton, N.B., belong to different unions and are expected to continue working but not to cross over into Ontario to help out.

In a statement on its website, the CMG says it regrets "the aggressive position taken by the Corporation in negotiations." The CMG says that the action of CBC management is putting the very future of public broadcasting in jeopardy.

(Source: CBC News/CMG)

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