Over at the Canadian Media Guild, they are talking about a new policy brought down by management that CBC employees will not be reimbursed for passport fees when travelling for work. Employees are encouraged to still file the expenses and then take it up with the union if expenses are denied.

Good arguments could be made for both sides in this issue.

• On one hand, there really aren’t that many companies that would reimburse passport expenses, as the passport has personal as well as business use.
• On the employee side, some employees actually do only go out of the country on business and choose to spend their vacation and other time in Canada only - the CBC may arguably have more employees that are inclined to do this than other organizations.

There is also the good old “we’ve had it and now it is being taken away”, which doesn’t sit well with anyone. Kind of like having a nice holiday party every year and then being told you have to pay for admission.

What do you think about the new passport policy? Fair? Unfair?

Photo by HJL used under Creative Commons licence.

The Canadian Media Guild, which represents more than 5,500 CBC employees, is distributing a poster around the Corp giving new CBC employees “tips” on their rights. The text:

• Make sure you’ve been hired properly. If you came on as a temporary employee, find out who you are replacing or what special event or project you’re working on. If you’re not replacing anyone and you’re not working on a special event or project (an ongoing show doesn’t count as a special event or project), get in touch with the Guild right away. If you’re a temporary, make sure you get a letter of engagement that details your start and end dates, how many days you work in a week, your job classification and the rate of pay. If you’re on contract, make sure to get a copy of your contract.
• Make sure that you are scheduled properly. If you have little control over your schedule and have to meet daily deadlines, then you are daily assigned and should claim overtime if you work more than regular hours in the day. If you have to come in on certain days, but can control your hours on those days, you’re probably weekly scheduled and should claim overtime if you work longer than regular hours for the week. To find out the regular hours and rate of pay for your job, go to http://www.cmg.ca/CBCbranchannualsalariesEN.pdf .
• Make sure you get put on the benefits plan if you’re hired for more than 13 weeks. And, if you were hired as a per-occasion temporary (sometimes called “casual”) and you have been working at least 4 days per week for more than 13 weeks, you should also be enrolled in the benefits plan. Benefits kick in for new employees after a 13-week waiting period.
• Ask around for a Guild representative in your area and get a hold of a new member guide; you can find a list of Guild reps in each location at http://www.cmg.ca/cbcbranchcontacts.asp .
• Fill out your union card, with an email address where we can keep in touch with you, and hand it back to a member of your local executive.
• Check the union contract (“collective agreement”) for all the terms of employment at CBC, as negotiated between the Guild and CBC management in 2005. You can find it online at http://www.cmg.ca/CBCbranchcollagreement2004-9-EN.pdf .

If you are in Toronto, the Guild executive holds a brief orientation session for new members on the last Wednesday of every month. Contact Jonathan Spence at jonathan@cmgtoronto.ca if you’d like to attend.

Time’s running out to run in the Canadian Media Guild election. The CMG which represents about 5,500 CBC employees, is still seeking nominations to its CBC branch.

So far, nobody has been nominated in the following positions:

• Director, SRC East
• Director, New Members & Youth
• Director, North

Only two director positions so far are contested:

• Vice-President*: Elaine Janes, John O’Connor
• Director, Prairies: Gaynette Spafford, Kenn Sunley

The following positions only have one person so far running:

• President*: Marc-Philippe Laurin
• Treasurer: Ralph Legare
• Secretary: Barbara Saxberg
• Director, SRC West (including Manitoba): Annick Forest
• Director, Small Locations: Fiona Christensen
• Director, Human Rights: Michael D’Souza
• Director, BC: Hélène Dupré-Espeut
• Director, Ontario: Jeffrey Mitrow
• Director, Temporary Employees: Dave Bartlett
• Director, Education & Mobilization: Kaveri Bittira
• Director, New Media: Joan Ramsay
• Director, Toronto: Carrie-Ann May
• Director, Atlantic: Harry Mesh

If you’re interested in running, click here to download the nomination form. It must be received with original signatures by 5 pm ET tomorrow, October 16.