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TORONTO- Unifor has filed an application with the CIRB claiming that Bell Canada is the rightful employer of technicians and clerical workers at Expertech, insisting that members should be bargaining with Bell Canada.

“What we’re saying is that Expertech is a puppet, owned and controlled wholly by Bell Canada,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We don’t bargain with puppets. Unifor members deserve to sit across the table from their employer, Bell Canada.”

On Tuesday, May 21, Unifor submitted a common employer application for Expertech technicians and clerical workers to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), claiming that Bell Canada is the real employer and not Expertech, consequently, these members ought to be covered by the Bell Canada Craft and Clerical collective agreements.

“This application is one more way that Unifor is defending good jobs in Canada’s telecommunications sector now and for the next generation of workers,” said Renaud Gagné, Unifor Quebec Director. “Bell has tried to sell these workers short by creating Expertech, but our position is that Expertech is Bell Canada, and our members deserve better.”

Bell Canada created and is now the sole owner of Expertech, and has been steadily decreasing the work allocated to members at Expertech. The union has witnessed the absolute control Bell has on Expertech’s contracts, resulting in business decisions that has led to layoffs and displacement of good unionized telecom jobs.

Employees of Bell Canada and Bell subsidiaries have long campaigned against contracting out and other forms of job erosion and will continue to do so.  For current updates about this campaign, visit bellrealtalk.ca.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

                 May 9, 2019 – 12:00 AM

TORONTO – The union representing local TV news staff across the CTV chain has made it clear to Bell Media that its restructuring plans cannot leave media workers out in the cold.

“Today’s announcement from CTV of its shift to ‘digital-first’ airing of local news stories on the Internet was inevitable,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Retooling local news for digital is necessary and, hopefully, a successful business plan because local TV is being starved for advertising revenues and anything that brings in a bigger audience and more ad revenue is welcome.”

The stations affected by restructuring include the CTV1 stations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Bell has told journalists and field technicians to expect a mix of retraining, layoffs, and new “digital” jobs, with a net reduction of staffing.

Dias cautioned Bell Media of its responsibility to guide news staff through the technological changes in job responsibilities, as it is expected that some journalists and field staff will need to acquire new digital skills.

“We are going to ensure no media worker is left behind,” said Dias. “Bell knows us pretty well and they know we mean it.”

Dias is also urging the federal government to accelerate its four-year long review of Canadian broadcasting in the Internet environment, scheduled to continue into 2020. “There are obvious actions the CRTC and the federal government can take to strengthen Canadian programming,” said Dias, referring to the CRTC’s own “Harnessing Change” report on Internet-broadcasting issued in June 2018.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

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