Two labour conflicts are taking shape at Cogeco. Last week, the union representing Cogeco Média personnel with radio station 106.9 FM submitted a request for conciliation to the Ministry of Labour. Today, the union representing Cogeco Connexion workers did likewise.
Little progress has been made in spite of the nine bargaining meetings that have been held. The talks began on December 17, 2021 and have bogged down due to the employer’s demands, which have been called ridiculous by the union. Some of these include the establishment of a night schedule, use of modular wage increases and more contracting out.
“At a time when they’re talking about modernizing the collective agreement to attract and retain personnel, they turnaround and offer us working conditions that you might find in a previous century,” said CUPE union representative Mario Fontaine.
Union demands centre mainly on the issue of compensation. The collective agreement of CUPE 3624 expired on December 31, 2021.
Cogeco Connexion is the second largest cable operator in Ontario and in Quebec. The Cogeco Média subsidiary owns and operates 22 radio stations in Quebec and one in Ontario, including two talk radio stations – 98.5 in Montreal and 106.9 in Mauricie. Cogeco Communications Inc. is a major communications company and is the eighth largest cable operator in North America thanks to its hybrid fibre coax access networks.