Representing 1,300 Manitoba Workers

Sale to Yellow Pages Group Far from Smooth

-By Diane Shaver, President CEP Local 7

The transition from MTS Media to Yellow Pages Group (YPG) has been anything but smooth. When cep Local 7 members from MTS Media showed up for work on Monday, October 2, YPG were the new owners. Just prior to that date, MTS had reneged on their earlier promises that employees could bump out of Media or apply for a Voluntary Retirement/Termination Incentive Program (VRTIP) before the sale took effect.

YPG representatives refused to meet with employees or the union prior to the sale. At the first union/management meeting following the sale, the union was hit with the announcement that the company was consolidating its production facilities. As a result, approximately one-third of the CEP Media workforce was to be eliminated. The bumping and other layoff provisions set out in the collective agreement were to be applied, including the offering of a VRTIP by YPG.

At the time of the purchase by YPG, CEP Local 7 had filed a grievance against MTS Media for failing to abide by the collective agreement, and the company's express promises that employees would have the right to chose whether or not they would work for the new company. The grievance went to arbitration on December 11 and 12, over the legal issue of wherever or not the sale triggers the VRTIP and layoff provisions under the collective agreement.

A decision from the arbitrator is expected within the next three months. Depending on what the decision is, further arbitrations may follow based on the promises MTS made over an individual's right to bump. The view of the union is that even those employees who accepted a VRTIP from YPG are covered by the grievance since their choices were severely limited by the actions of MTS Media and the group of MTS companies.

It has been extremely difficult to deal with YPG, in part because three of their four human resource staff reside outside the province. The most pressing issues so far have been to try to assist those members who have taken a retirement package to ensure that their wages and pension are properly taken care of. However, the collective agreement covering these workers expires next year and the union is anticipating a tough time at the bargaining table trying to preserve the gains that have been made over the years at MTS Media.