Bell failed to give feds advance notice of layoffs, defends cuts in committee testimony

BCE Inc. did not give the federal government advance notice of its plans to cut 4,800 positions in February, despite being legally obligated to do so, according to statements made during the company’s appearance in front of the Commons heritage committee. On Thursday, Bell CEO Mirko Bibic and chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson testified before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. They were called to address recent layoffs at the company, which – including Bell’s July announcement – amount to approximately 6,100 jobs cut in the span of eight months. Certain companies, including Bell, are required to give the federal government 16 weeks advance notice when they intend to terminate 50 or more employees, according to the Canada Labour Code and its accompanying regulations. However, Bibic and Malcolmson stated during their testimony that Bell notified the federal government of its plans on Feb. 8, the same day it told the public and started laying off staff. Committee members grilled the executives on the issue, but Bibic asserted that the government does not require 16 weeks advance notice if affected employees are guaranteed 16 weeks of continued salary “even in cases where they otherwise would not be.” “Mr. Bibic, I have the Federal Labour Standards in front of me and that is not what I'm reading,” retorted Conservative MP Rachael Thomas. “You were required to give the government 16 weeks notice or apply for an exemption.” The legislation also requires Bell to “immediately” give a copy of the advance notice to any union representing the affected employees. In an email to the Wire Report, Unifor national president Lana Payne said that it did not receive any advance notice and was only informed of the cuts at 3 p.m. on the same day that Bell informed the public. “Any meetings between Bell and Unifor took place after the fact as the union worked to reduce the financial blow to our members,” stated Payne. Unifor represents 19,000 telecom workers at Bell and its subsidiaries, it also represents 2,100 members at Bell Media. About 800 of Unifor’s members are being removed. MPs accused Bell of disrespecting its workers and pointed to the group termination of 400 union members over a 10-minute video call on March 20, but Bibic claimed that Unifor “endorsed” the process. “We conducted a three-hour meeting with the union leadership to explain the process by which we would engage with the employees,” said Bibic. “Unifor didn't raise any concerns.” He also told the committee that after “10 days of meetings over five days," Bell “obtained the union's consent to offer voluntary separation packages,” which were accepted by 61 per cent of affected employees. "Let’s not mistake the offering of voluntary severance as generous on the part of Bell," said Payne in her emailed statements. She noted that voluntary severance packages are in many of the union's collective agreements and are the minimum of what the company needs to offer. “The fact that you get severance doesn’t change the fact that you’ve lost your job. To say Unifor did not raise any concerns is false," Payne stated. “Workers know that Bell will become a harder place to work after the cuts. Some are opting to get out now rather than face a future where they will be expected to do more with less,” said Payne of the voluntary severance packages offered by the company. She explained that by providing some workers the option to “leave under their own terms rather than waiting to see if their job is next on the chopping block,” the packages are particularly useful to workers nearing retirement or in vulnerable financial positions. She said that the union was aware that there would be virtual meetings, but not “that it would be one-way group Webex meetings where members would not be provided the opportunity to see that they had union representation on the call and did not have the ability to ask questions.” Bell changed the meeting process when Unifor told the company that it did not agree to them being conducted in such a manner. Later calls saw workers being advised that a union rep was present, but Payne claimed that questions were only permitted in a filtered chat. Along with the layoffs, Bell has been under scrutiny for divesting more than 40 per cent of its radio stations, cutting CTV newscasts, and shifting away from the “overly regulated” parts of its business. Bibic blames the restructuring decisions on a challenging economic climate for broadcasters. “The industry is in flux due to technological disruption, changing viewer habits, shifting advertiser demand, and vigorous competition from foreign web giants who are not subject to the same costly regulations as Canadian broadcasters,” said Bibic. “There's only one revenue stream and it's advertising,” explained the CEO of Bell’s CTV network, which he said loses $185 million per year. He challenged the federal government, one of Canada’s “massive advertisers,” for spending 70 per cent of its advertising budget on digital platforms, “which predominantly goes to Meta and Google” and “creates massive stress on the entire media ecosystem.” – Reporting by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca

Bell failed to give feds advance notice of layoffs, defends cuts in committee testimony

Broadcast | April 12, 2024

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Bell failed to give feds advance notice of layoffs, defends cuts in committee testimony

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