The president and CEO of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, canceled Monday afternoon the meeting that was planned with the TVA employees’ union, which includes most of the workers affected by the elimination of 547 positions within the company.
This cancellation occurs the day after the transition to Everybody talks about it of Me Steve Bargoné, of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents TVA employees. On the airwaves of Radio-Canada, Sunday evening, Me Bargoné was particularly critical of Pierre Karl Péladeau, whom he accused of not respecting the collective agreement. The lawyer, who was accompanied by two journalists from TVA, particularly deplored that CUPE was not consulted before Mr. Péladeau announced the hundreds of layoffs two weeks ago.
Me Bargoné hoped that Monday’s meeting would allow them to find solutions to save some of these jobs, but Pierre Karl Péladeau indicated that he would not attend, which the union regretted. “Neither you nor your union nor Quebecor or Mr. Péladeau, or even Quebec, can allow the crisis at TVA to be duplicated by a management-union war,” we can read in the short message that the union sent to its members on Facebook.
It is reported that Mr. Péladeau committed in his message of withdrawal on Monday to “respect the terms of severance pay” provided for in the collective agreement for employees covered by the restructuring plan.
Note that in parallel with the historic cuts within TVA Group, negotiations are currently underway regarding the next collective agreement.
Difficult last few months
A little earlier Monday, Quebecor also announced that it was disconnecting the specialty channel Yoopa, which broadcasts children’s programs. It will be replaced on air by video recordings from QUB radio, digital radio launched in 2018.
The last few months have been particularly turbulent within TVA Group, which is greatly affected by the fall in advertising revenues which is afflicting the entire media industry. The TVA Sports channel, which has never been profitable, also remains a financial burden.
In February, 240 jobs were lost at Quebecor, including 140 at Groupe TVA. Then, less than two weeks ago, 547 positions were lost, or nearly a third of the television company’s workforce. Stations outside major centers are particularly affected, and the production of regional newscasts will now be done from Quebec.
Despite TVA Group’s difficulties, its parent company, Quebecor, is generally doing well. Last week, the company reported a revenue increase of 23.8% compared to the same period last year, mainly due to the growth of its activities in the telecommunications sector due to the recent acquisition of Freedom Mobile.