TVO can pay fair wages with a fraction of its $17-million reserve: Union

TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2023 /CNW/ - Ontario's public broadcaster TVO is sitting on $17 million in long-term investments while its journalists and education workers are on their fifth week of a strike for fair wages and job security.

TVO's Audited Financial Statements for the year ending March 31, 2023 show that it has $17 million invested in Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) and Principal Protected Notes (PPNs).

This money is locked in until 2027 and was invested in the weeks preceding the expiration date of the Collective Agreement between TVO and its Canadian Media Guild (CMG) employees.

The way TVO has reported this money obscures both its source and its purpose.

It seems highly unusual for a government entity such as a public broadcaster to hoard large amounts of cash, as Ontarians generally expect their taxes to fund vital public services and not remain in investment vehicles with no true accountability for how the funds will be spent.

CMG members are concerned that this money is being wasted by sitting in an investment account instead of being used to fund the valuable services TVO provides to Ontario's taxpayers.

With the rate of inflation, 3 years of 0% wage increases and 3 years of 1% wage increases, CMG employees at TVO make 15% less than they were making 10 years ago. They are asking for wage increases that don't come anywhere close to filling that gap but would ensure they do not take yet another real wage cut. A very small portion of that $17 million TVO has locked away in long-term investments is all that would have been needed to offer those wage increases.

More importantly, CMG members are fighting for the future of TVO workers. TVO says it needs to hire people on precarious contracts with no health benefits to grow in the future.

Why does this organization say it cannot afford benefits or job security for its employees when it has both $17 million sitting in long-term investments, and an excess $4 million dollars it will give back to the government.

CMG members are asking TVO to get back to the negotiating table or proceed with binding arbitration so they can get a fair deal and get back to work. Members believe the CEO Jeffrey Orridge, who has the authority to make these decisions, is refusing these avenues to resolve the conflict. He owes his workers, and the public, some answers.

SOURCE Canadian Media Guild