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Vote brings strike to an end as CMG employees prepare for return to work
Toronto, ON, Nov. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TVO Media Education Group (TVO) today announced that its employees represented by the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) will be returning to work on Monday, November 6 after voting this weekend to accept TVO’s offer in the negotiation for a new collective agreement.
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The accepted offer maintains a level of job security for CMG employees that is among the best in the industry, provides increased access to new job opportunities for production staff, and includes a wage increase of 7.7% over three years. At the same time, it provides TVO with cost certainty, augments the skillset of TVO staff as the organization evolves with the future of digital media, and continues the record of sound management of the public and donor dollars TVO is responsible for.
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The accepted offer includes three main components:
1. A wage increase for all CMG employees of 7.7% over three years, consisting of a 3.0% increase in year one, a 2.75% increase in year two and a 1.75% increase in the final year.
All wage increases are retroactive to October 28, 2022, the day after the last collective agreement expired. As such, CMG employees will see an immediate increase of 5.8% in their pay (the 3.0% retroactive increase for year one and the 2.75% increase for year two, compounded).
2. An agreement to retain the language currently in the collective agreement regarding contract employees, with no waivers allowing for contract extensions.
TVO had been seeking increased flexibility to extend employment contracts beyond two years. A number of proposals were presented to achieve this flexibility, but in order to achieve agreement, TVO agreed to withdraw its proposals.
3. A commitment that TVO will provide a range of training options to help CMG employees acquire skills that will open up new job opportunities in their field.
“Today’s vote comes as welcome news,” said Jeffrey L. Orridge, CEO of TVO. “Everyone at TVO is looking forward to having our team at full strength once again and focusing our efforts on delivering the important educational content and current affair journalism TVO is known for.”
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TVO audiences will begin to see the current affairs journalism that was paused during the strike return to our various platforms throughout November. Some content will be available the week of November 20, with additional content – including the #onpoli podcast and some of TVO’s feature columnists – returning the following week. Other programming, including the Agenda with Steve Paikin and the video series Know Brainers, have longer lead times.
Of course, TVO content and services such as TVOkids programming, the TVO ILC online secondary school, TVO Mathify online tutoring service, and TVO Original
Documentaries – all of which were unaffected by the strike – will continue uninterrupted.
CMG, which represents 74 TVO employees with roles including digital learning content producers for TVO Learn, current affair journalists writing for TVO.org, and producers on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, began legal strike action on August 21, 2023.
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