The nearly four-week CBC lockout of 5,500 of its employees has brought all of the company’s outlets to a virtual standstill. Negotiations had been taking place between CBC management and its employees’ union for the past 15 months with little progress. The main issue of contention is the CBC’s plan to hire more non-permanent employees in an effort to alleviate financial strains on the company.
However, the union sees this as a move towards phasing out permanent employees. Similar trends in the private sector suggest that temporary workers who are not entitled to benefits appears to be the way of the future; nevertheless, it is unfortunate that the well-loved CBC has become its most recent victim. The CBC has always maintained a high quality of news and entertainment. In the past few weeks programming has come undone. Aside from short one-minute summaries, the news has been delegated to the BBC news broadcast. Programs have suddenly stopped halfway through, replaced with a written explanation that “the CBC is currently experiencing a labour disruption.”
Another casualty of the lockout is that less well-known musicians and artists are not receiving the publicity they need. The CBC has often taken the risk to broadcast the work of artists not considered “mainstream.” As a result, many are left without an outlet to showcase their talent.
As a Canadian network dedicated not wholly to dividends but also to developing a culture and awareness of our nation, it is our hope that the CBC and its employees will try to find a solution for the company’s financial woes without sacrificing the integrity of the CBC we have grown to love and rely on.
Could we even fathom another year without Hockey Night in Canada?
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