Turning tides

I've been waiting for InsideTheCBC to do something about a recent email we MotherCorpians received at the end of last week. I didn't want to write about this until I made sure the letter was public record, and not solely for the eyes of CBC staff.

In a plainspoken message to employees yesterday, CBC President Hubert Lacroix, announced that there would be no layoffs at the CBC if there’s “any way to avoid it.”

“Where others are contemplating and predicting layoffs, we are looking to put in place and push forward with solutions that won’t involve cutting jobs,” Lacroix said yesterday in a email to employees.

Lacroix said CBC employees are the foundation of the corporation “and we don’t want to chip away at that foundation.” This comes in the wake of layoffs announced at Canwest this week, with CTV predicting similar measures.

Nevertheless cost-cutting measures are being put in place immediately:

• All new-hires will have to be reviewed at the vice-presidential level;
• Significant reductions in travel, hospitality and entertainment expenses;
• Additional reductions in overtime.

Lacroix also appealed directly to employees to help. “You know the details of your particular operations best. Look around; think hard about what it is you do. If you have an idea as to how your unit or department could cut costs over the coming year, pass that idea on to your director."

(...)

A couple things of note.

First: The email came amid THIS. Which Lacroix also defended earlier last week.

Second: The Canadian Media Guild collective agreement with CBC expires this March.

Third: The CMG and CBC start yet another full week of collective agreement planning/discussions today. According to a recent CMG newsletter...

... we will be tackling the issues of Workload, Performance management and staff development, Training and Job security.

Both parties continue to seriously pursue the goal of achieving an early renewal of our Collective agreement and are encouraged in this pursuit by our improved relationship and our new problem-solving process.

All this is a little un-nerving. Actually I've been feeling uneasy about this whole economic shakedown for the past couple weeks now. I can't seem to decide which is more foolish: living in Canada's most expensive province/territory during a recession OR trying to find a new job during a recession.

Thoughts?

PS, I've just decided that Life is a High way is a song I simply don't hear enough of. It reminds me of summers on PEI at my cousins' house, rockin' out to our parents' casette tapes. That and Rhythm of My Heart.

Excuse me while I go have a moment to myself.