CEP Members Locked Out by Bell Express Vu

TORONTO, July 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Bell Express Vu, wholly owned by Bell Canada Enterprise, has served notice to lock out employees at 12:01 am on July 14.

They have locked out 114 members of CEP Local 79M, the television technicians that maintain and distribute television signals by satellite and internet to the more than 2 million Bell customers across Canada.

The union has been negotiating with the company since April 2011 to achieve a first collective agreement. On July 6, Bell presented a non-negotiable offer. The members rejected the company's offer by 88 per cent on July 10.

Shortly after, the union received notice that Bell was locking out the employees.

Some of the key issues in the dispute are wages, wage grids, vacations, workplace adjustments and industry language.

"Our members deserve to have a decent and fair collective agreement," said Barb Dolan, CEP Ontario Region Administrative Vice-President.

Mike Kachurowski, CEP National Representative, [phone]
Barb Dolan, CEP Administrative Vice-President, [phone]