Metroland outsourcing newspaper jobs to Asia

TORONTO , Oct. 9 /CNW/ - The union representing employees at the Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo daily newspapers is calling on Metroland West Media Group to kill a plan to ship advertising jobs to India and the Philippines .

Metroland, a division of Torstar, announced the plan to employees at the two newspapers earlier this week. It would see about 20 ad designer jobs at The Hamilton Spectator and Waterloo Region Record disappear by March.

"We are deeply disappointed Metroland is willing to give away jobs of the highest calibre, not just to another company, but to another continent," said Paul Morse , Hamilton Spectator unit chair for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union Local 87-M (Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild).

CEP Local 87-M, which represents 36 media outlets across Ontario including the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star, is calling on Metroland to keep Canada strong by maintaining jobs in Canada .

"It is hypocritical of Metroland to expect advertisers to spend their money locally while it spends its money abroad," said Robert Reid , CEP 87-M unit chair at The Record. "We are increasingly shortchanging our readers and our customers in the pursuit of elusive profit margins."

"This is hard to swallow when we see corporations use one hand to deliver pink slips and, at the same time, use the other to award multimillion-dollar golden parachutes," Morse said.

The plan, which the company said was not yet final, was rolled out to employees this week in advance of contract negotiations with about 90 unionized advertising members at The Spectator. Negotiations will commence at The Record at the end of 2010.

For further information: Media contacts: Paul Morse, 87-M Unit Chair, Hamilton Spectator, [phone]; Rob Reid, Unit Chair, The Waterloo Region Record, [phone]