TVO journalists and producers, represented by the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), walked off the job at 10:30 a.m. ET Monday.
Without a contract since October of last year, the union had warned that its members at the Ontario public broadcaster would be in a legal strike position as of last Friday, with the bargaining team unable to come to agreement with the Ontario government on issues including the phasing out of permanent positions and salaries that CMG says aren’t keeping pace with the rising cost of living in Toronto.
“While it is unfortunate that we have not yet been able to come to a collective bargaining agreement with our CMG employees, TVO Media Education Group remains committed to continuing discussions with CMG and finding a resolution,” said Jeffrey L. Orridge, CEO of TVO, in a statement. “We are ready to meet with CMG at any time and we remain confident that we can bring this to a resolution that works for both parties. We look forward to continuing our work together to bring important current affair journalism and educational content to Ontarians.”
TVO says there will be no impact on Ontario learners or others using TVO Learn, students taking TVO ILC courses, or those receiving free tutoring via TVO Mathify.
The network says Ontarians will still be able to watch a wide range of TVO programs and documentaries on its broadcast channel, the TVO Today app, and TVO.org.
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