Why Upper Management’s position is wrong

I want to specifically single out upper management here. Middle management is not the enemy, most of them came from the ranks of CBC staff and, were they running the show, I don’t think things would have deteriorated to the point they have. I also want to remind you, as I said in my previous post, that I am a ‘casual’ contract employee at the CBC. Upper Management’s assertion that “To suggest that a contractual employee at CBC is a “disposable” worker is an insult to all those current CBC employees who work on contract.” Is not true. I don’t take it as an insult that CMG would rather we were all staff and I don’t think there is anyone on contract (unless they don’t plan on staying) that wouldn’t rather be full time staff.

The realities of short term and contract work are brilliantly illustrated by Sandra Cordon in her article Trend toward contracts over full-time jobs bad for society, say experts (You can read the full article here http://www.canadianbusiness.com/news/article.jsp?content=b081899A)

It says in part:

Short-term contract workers save firms millions of dollars on salaries and health care and pension benefits - normal employee perks that are rarely extended to contract staff. But unions and some workplace experts warn that a shift to greater use of contract employees will lead to lower living standards, reduce company loyalty and cut productivity.

And that, they say, will hurt the economy and society in the longer term as insecure workers find they can't get mortgages without a permanent job and steady income; can't put down roots or raise a family for fear their work will run out.

"The risk is that individuals, households and, hence, communities, will experience higher levels of insecurity," said Leah Vosco, a political science professor at York University in Toronto.”

At the CBC, a Crown Corporation, the reasons for avoiding this are more immediate and short term. The CBC is a Canadian institution, for all the reasons why the CBC is important see the post that precedes this one. Part of the reason that the CBC is able to do what it does, as well and efficiently as it does is the CBC family, older CBCers educate younger workers about the history and mandate of the CBC, about what traditionally has and hasn’t worked, new people are integrated slowly into a talented and experienced work force and their minds are on the job they have to do and not on whether or not their contract will be renewed, or where they will find their next job.

If upper management gets it’s way the trend will be to replace experience with cheap labor (wherever it can be gotten). In the Canadian labour force in general we don’t want to create an atmosphere where people are trying to underbid each other to see who will work for the lowest wages. Upper Management will say they will not do this but the history of business managers in the late 20th and early 21st century indicates that if they can, they will – maybe not today, but as soon as they need to improve the bottom line. Upper management will also say that they are only talking about new hires, not current employees. Again, as soon as the bottom line needs repair there will be nothing to stop them from laying off current employees and then re-hiring them a few months later as temps. If they can, they will.