CBC, Union Deal May End Lockout

The CBC lockout is apparently over, as the network and the CANADIAN MEDIA GUILD have reached a memorandum of settlement. The deal, reached at midnight ET MONDAY morning (10/3) after 16 months of negoriation and six weeks of the lockout that affected CBC (English) and RADIO-CANADA (French) TV and radio, follows the intervention of Labour Minister JOE FONTANA into the dispute.

The deal will have to be ratified by union members; details of the agreement have not been reached, but a joint press release terms the mediated settlement as addressing "the needs and aspirations of employees raised by the CMG while still recognizing the business realities of today's broadcasting environment and the evolving interests of audiences. Most important, the agreement allows employees to get  back to the business of broadcasting immediately. CBC/Radio-Canada hopes to begin the return to normal programming and to have it entirely back to normal as soon as possible."

« see more Net News