Thanks for all your hard work. I think I speak for all the people on the Ottawa picket line when I say your baking did wonders for both body and soul!
In just a few short days, the proposed deal will almost certainly be ratified and your favourite CBC programs will be back on the air. Those of us who work at CBC are glad to be heading back into the studios to bring you the news and the programs you love.
But this new collective agreement is not the end of the story for many CBC workers--particularly many of those in this category you call the "CBC key demographic."
Why, you ask? Well, many of the people aged 18 to 35 who work at the CBC are in a category called "temporary workers." There are just over 900 temporary workers at the CBC, and many (probably most) of them will continue to live without job security after this agreement is signed. This includes people who have been working full-time or close to it at the CBC for YEARS. And new people will continue to join their ranks in the years to come.
This may surprise you if you've read the details of the deal. It talks about a 9.5 per cent "cap" on contract workers at CBC. But "contract" workers are separate from "temporary" workers, and there will be no cap on temps.
The reason I'm telling you this is that I know some of you are journalism students. Chances are, before you land full-time jobs, you will do a string of internships, paid and unpaid. If you're an intern at CBC and your work is good, you may be offered further paid work as a temporary before and after graduation. It's great experience, and a lot of fun, too. But you should be prepared to spend years of your life in that phase if you want to graduate to permanent status. For the first couple of years you may wait and worry by the phone, hoping it will ring with an offer of work that day. Or, you'll get a run of work that goes for many weeks or months, only to suddenly find yourself with an unplanned week or two off and no sense of when you might be called in again. It is highly stressful for most people, no question.
If you hold out long enough, you might get a really great temporary assignment, such as covering off a maternity leave for a full straight year. But the corporation will still consider you a temporary, not a contract employee, despite the little piece of paper you signed.
If you're a journalism student, your professors may tell you that the key to landing a permanent job is to be willing to work in more remote locations. That certainly does work for some people. But at CBC, many of the jobs in those locations are also "temp" jobs. To get the permanent plum, you'll have to work your way to the top of the temp heap there as well--just as you would have to do in a bigger market.
It's true, some people in the news business see advantages to employing more people on a temporary basis. And the news business isn't the only area where the use of temp workers is exploding--it's happening in the private sector and the federal government as well. But there is a desperate need for a full public debate on this issue. I urge you to talk about it with your classmates and your professors and anyone else who will listen. The fact is, news organizations talk a good game about attracting younger readers, listeners and viewers. The obvious way for them to do that is to let some young people into positions of power. But many of them are barely allowing young people a foot in the door.
It's great that the CBC has agreed to stem the increase in non-permanent jobs with a cap on contract workers. But let's keep holding their feet to the fire and fight for an even better deal for young journalists.
I'm sure you and your carrot cake will be more than welcomed when it comes time to celebrate.
thanks for your hard work!
yeah tell me about the plan later, it might still be worth making. to celebrate.
Hi guys,
Thanks for all your hard work. I think I speak for all the people on the Ottawa picket line when I say your baking did wonders for both body and soul!
In just a few short days, the proposed deal will almost certainly be ratified and your favourite CBC programs will be back on the air. Those of us who work at CBC are glad to be heading back into the studios to bring you the news and the programs you love.
But this new collective agreement is not the end of the story for many CBC workers--particularly many of those in this category you call the "CBC key demographic."
Why, you ask? Well, many of the people aged 18 to 35 who work at the CBC are in a category called "temporary workers." There are just over 900 temporary workers at the CBC, and many (probably most) of them will continue to live without job security after this agreement is signed. This includes people who have been working full-time or close to it at the CBC for YEARS. And new people will continue to join their ranks in the years to come.
This may surprise you if you've read the details of the deal. It talks about a 9.5 per cent "cap" on contract workers at CBC. But "contract" workers are separate from "temporary" workers, and there will be no cap on temps.
The reason I'm telling you this is that I know some of you are journalism students. Chances are, before you land full-time jobs, you will do a string of internships, paid and unpaid. If you're an intern at CBC and your work is good, you may be offered further paid work as a temporary before and after graduation. It's great experience, and a lot of fun, too. But you should be prepared to spend years of your life in that phase if you want to graduate to permanent status. For the first couple of years you may wait and worry by the phone, hoping it will ring with an offer of work that day. Or, you'll get a run of work that goes for many weeks or months, only to suddenly find yourself with an unplanned week or two off and no sense of when you might be called in again. It is highly stressful for most people, no question.
If you hold out long enough, you might get a really great temporary assignment, such as covering off a maternity leave for a full straight year. But the corporation will still consider you a temporary, not a contract employee, despite the little piece of paper you signed.
If you're a journalism student, your professors may tell you that the key to landing a permanent job is to be willing to work in more remote locations. That certainly does work for some people. But at CBC, many of the jobs in those locations are also "temp" jobs. To get the permanent plum, you'll have to work your way to the top of the temp heap there as well--just as you would have to do in a bigger market.
It's true, some people in the news business see advantages to employing more people on a temporary basis. And the news business isn't the only area where the use of temp workers is exploding--it's happening in the private sector and the federal government as well. But there is a desperate need for a full public debate on this issue. I urge you to talk about it with your classmates and your professors and anyone else who will listen. The fact is, news organizations talk a good game about attracting younger readers, listeners and viewers. The obvious way for them to do that is to let some young people into positions of power. But many of them are barely allowing young people a foot in the door.
It's great that the CBC has agreed to stem the increase in non-permanent jobs with a cap on contract workers. But let's keep holding their feet to the fire and fight for an even better deal for young journalists.