2023-11-14 02:10:16
The president and CEO of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, canceled his presence Monday afternoon at a meeting that had been planned for a few days already with the TVA employees’ union following the elimination of 547 positions within of the company. The businessman also accused the union of peddling “erroneous and misleading information” since the cutbacks were announced.
This cancellation comes the day after the appearance on Tout le monde entalk by Me Steve Bargoné, of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents TVA employees. On Radio-Canada on Sunday evening, Me Bargoné was particularly critical of Pierre Karl Péladeau, whom he accused of not respecting the collective agreement. The lawyer, who was accompanied by two journalists from TVA, particularly deplored that CUPE was not consulted before Mr. Péladeau announced the hundreds of layoffs two weeks ago.
Me Bargoné hoped that Monday’s meeting would allow them to find solutions to save some of these jobs, but Pierre Karl Péladeau indicated that he would not attend, for which the union regretted. “Neither you nor your union nor Quebecor or Mr. Péladeau, or even Quebec, can allow the crisis at TVA to be duplicated by a management-union war,” we can read in the short message that the union sent to its members on Facebook.
In parallel with the historic cuts within TVA Group, negotiations are also underway regarding the next collective agreement.
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Pierre Karl Péladeau responded to the union in a note sent to employees late Monday evening, a copy of which Le Devoir obtained. He notes that the union representatives have chosen “to take the path of confrontation”. He also returned to the comments made by Me Bargoné on Sunday, to Tout le monde en parole, which he considers misleading.
Mr. Péladeau maintains that it is normal that the TVA Group did not warn the union of the elimination of 547 positions, but emphasizes having invited the union representative to a meeting a few days after the announcement. This was to take place on Friday, but it would have been moved to Monday, at the request of the union, writes Mr. Péladeau. The interview given to Tout le monde en talks on Sunday finally dissuaded him from attending this meeting.
“Due to Mr. Bargoné’s public accusations, I preferred to withdraw from this meeting and give way to Quebecor’s vice-president of human resources, Ms. Roxanne Doucet, and to [M. Martin Dalpé, directeur principal des relations de travail de Québecor]. Mr. Bargoné decided not to appear and to cancel this meeting,” indicates the President and CEO of Quebecor.
Difficult last few months
A little earlier Monday, Quebecor also announced that it was disconnecting the specialty channel Yoopa, which broadcasts children’s programs. It will be replaced on air by video recordings from QUB radio, digital radio launched in 2018.
The last few months have been particularly turbulent within TVA Group, which is greatly affected by the fall in revenues which is afflicting the entire media industry. The TVA Sports channel, which has never been profitable, also remains a financial burden.
In February, 240 jobs were lost at Quebecor, including 140 at Groupe TVA. Then, less than two weeks ago, 547 positions were lost, or nearly a third of the television company’s workforce. Stations outside major centers are particularly affected, while the production of regional newscasts will now be done from Quebec.
Despite TVA Group’s difficulties, its parent company, Quebecor, is generally doing well. Last week, the company reported a revenue increase of 23.8% compared to the same period last year, mainly due to the growth of its activities in the telecommunications sector due to the recent acquisition of Freedom Mobile.
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