The Radio-Canada employees’ union accuses the public broadcaster of having fueled panic within its ranks for more than five months by announcing major cuts last December, which were to result in the abolition of 800 positions across the country. . Ultimately, the layoffs will be much smaller than expected thanks to the additional funds allocated to CBC/Radio-Canada in the recent federal budget.
“CBC/Radio-Canada behaved like the child who cried wolf. We realize today that the announcement was rushed. This had the consequence of creating a wave of anxiety among employees like I have never seen at Radio-Canada,” lamented Wednesday the president of the Union of Radio-Canada Workers (STTRC), Pierre Tousignant. .
Remember that after weeks of rumors, CBC/Radio-Canada summoned all of its employees in December to announce that cuts of $125 million were necessary, citing, among other things, a drop in public funding. In all, 800 positions, including 200 already vacant, had to be abolished across the country to achieve this.
But Ottawa has since indicated that CBC/Radio-Canada would not have to comply with the 3.3% spending reduction target imposed on most federal organizations. Then, the government announced Tuesday in its new budget additional aid of $42 million to the public broadcaster for the production of current affairs and entertainment programs.
This investment immediately led CBC/Radio-Canada management to announce that there would be no further cuts this year. Some people will have seen the December announcement as a way for the state corporation to put pressure on the federal government to seek increased funding. Especially since Catherine Tait, the CEO of the public broadcaster, had already suggested that the cuts could be reduced in the event of an increase in public funding.
“I’m not in Catherine Tait’s head, but I dare to believe that the employees were not used in a negotiation context. I’m not inclined to believe in conspiracy theories, it must be said. On the other hand, I believe in incompetence and haste,” said Pierre Tousignant.
Elimination of nearly 350 positions
The president of the STTRC, affiliated with the CSN, has been on the alert since December. Within Radio-Canada, layoffs were announced little by little, but everyone kept in mind that the worst was yet to come. The great slaughter so feared did not ultimately materialize. Still, 141 people across the country have lost their jobs since December. What’s more, 205 vacant positions have been abolished.
“We are a long way from the 800 positions eliminated that we were told about in December, it’s true, but there are still 346 positions eliminated. This is almost half of what was initially announced, but it remains important,” underlined Mr. Tousignant.
Joined by The duty On Wednesday, CBC/Radio-Canada management did not want to specify in which sectors the 346 abolished positions are located. It is impossible to know whether CBC and Radio-Canada suffered cuts in the same way. “It’s a big lack of transparency not to reveal these figures,” denounces the president of the STTRC, which represents most employees in Quebec.
The Media Guild, the main union in English Canada, reports having received around twenty layoff notices in five months. However, these figures do not include positions vacated by resignations or retirements and subsequently abolished.
Within French Services, we know that the communications and marketing division was cut by 21 of its members in January: a number that includes executives, union members and vacant positions. Around twenty positions in the television and digital media sectors were also targeted by cuts in February.
Information spared
Retirements have been facilitated in all sectors without there being any replacement. On the other hand, there were no layoffs in information, on radio or in the regions. “It’s reassuring that no journalist has lost their job. It’s good news. We can rejoice about it,” declared the president of the Professional Federation of Journalists (FPJQ), Éric-Pierre Champagne.
Significant job losses in journalism were anticipated a few weeks ago, not only at Radio-Canada, but also at TVA. The main private television network in Quebec had planned a major slimming treatment for its information sector, but the cuts were ultimately limited. In certain regional TVA stations, the latest collective agreement even created new journalist positions in the field.
“It hurts less than we thought for Radio-Canada and TVA. But we should not think that there is no media crisis. The crisis remains very real. There are a lot of local media, weeklies in particular, which are currently struggling,” says the president of the FPJQ.