CBC lockout...

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation locked out 5,500 employees at 12:01am ET Monday, Aug. 15th. The Canadian Media Guild which has been locked out represents Technicians, Producers and Administrative staff. CBC Television is showing reruns all day/night long. In some cases, they have done a pretty good job of scheduling! 2 hours of comedy programming in daytime.

Unlike the BBC strike when freelancers stepped in for BBC News programming, the CBC intends on showing the BBC World feed 3-times a day and several more times on CBC Newsworld. Local news has been shelved completely on television. Documentaries are being shown on Newsworld several times a day.

The Canadian Football League has a Saturday night slot that will be kept intact, but likely with no announcers and quite possibly getting another broadcaster to produce the technical side. If it drags on long enough, we might get NHL hockey with no commentators either.

On the Radio front, some BBC programming is being shown and a national morning show on CBC Radio ONE.
CBC Radio TWO is airing classical music all day long but with 6 minutes of news and weather from 6am-6pm.

The CBC website has been scaled back. All local sites are gone with this text replacing:
"CBC is currently experiencing a labour disruption, which means some of the information we normally offer you is unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience. "

Only CBC is affected. Their french arm, Radio-Canada, is handled by a different union...sort of. No local french language programming is being broadcast except in Quebec or a small part of New Brunswick. That union only covers those areas. So hypothetically, CBC Montreal being unaffected COULD produce news. But they don't.

Just thought I'd inform you on whats happening on this side of the pond...

What is the nature of the dispute between CBC and its staff?

Is it a pay issue - or something elese?

According to CBC's own website, their employees have been working without the protection of a contract since March 2004, and have gone out on strike in annoyance to the CBC's failure to propose a new one.

They've been negotiating for 15 months and haven't come to an agreement.

There were 2 different unions, the CMG and the CEP(Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union). The CEP and the CBC always went on strike/were locked out every few years. The last was in 2001. Before that, I think it was 1999 and once before then if memory serves correct. In fact, at one of the previous labour disruptions, the CMG almost went on strike.
Since then the technicians/camera operators/satellite truck operators/maintenance workers took a vote to go under the CMG.
There are some freelancers but they are also unionized. They are in a precarious position because they are being told to cross the picket line by the CBC.

I like the idea of going on strike out of annoyance. I shall be straight onto my Father of Chapel next time the coffee machine breaks.

Honestly, what is it with Canada and lock-outs. First the ice hockey (the Canadian equivalent of the Premiership going on strike for an entire season), and now this...

The other sticking point that the CBC wanted to hire new employess on a "contractual" basis, something the Canadian Media Guild calls a "fast-food restaurant" system of hiring.

BTW, all of CBC Television's news output (local and national) has been cancelled. It has been replaced by simulcasts of BBC World News.

Telecommunications giant Telus also has it's own problems with it's unions. In fact, no one is sure if it's a strike or a lockout...

Its a TV-am in the making. But on a larger scale. Doooomed

BBC warned over 'taking sides' in Canadian dispute - Media Guardian

I red that and think this is a very weighted arguement.. I am sure BBC World have a contract and as they are a buisness venure they would have to stick to that contract.