Rabinovitch feels the heat of CBC lockout by Chris Cobb

CBC president Robert Rabinovitch could be headed for a major defeat as management and union negotiators close in this weekend on a deal to end a six-week lockout of 5,500 employees.

Mr. Rabinovitch's high-stakes labour strategy suffered a major blow this week when public pressure brought federal Labour Minister Joe Fontana into the fray. Mr. Fontana urged the two sides to resume negotiations and, significantly, signalled that he supported the union stance: "We want long-term, permanent jobs for all our citizens," the minister said.

As well, Mr. Rabinovitch, who has also been acting as chairman of the CBC board since the resignation last March of Carole Taylor, was apparently given an unexpectedly rough ride over his handling of the lockout when he met with board members last week in Montreal.

Although CBC board meetings are secret, insiders at the public broadcaster say several board members were unusually critical and questioning of the strategy being pursued by Mr. Rabinovitch and his senior vice-president of human resources, George Smith.

Management ordered the lockout on Aug. 15 after the Canadian Media Guild refused to sign a contract that would have increased the number of CBC contract workers at the expense of full-time jobs.

The lockout, which has disrupted CBC radio and TV programming across Canada, was at a stalemate until this week when MPs returned to Ottawa and demanded an end to the dispute.

MPs of all parties, and especially those from rural ridings, have been inundated by complaints from their constituents since the lockout began.

Unlike city-dwelling Canadians, many rural and small town residents rely on the CBC for all their regional news and information.

"I've had a dozen calls a week from people who say they miss CBC radio," said Conservative Jim Abbott, MP for Kootenay-Columbia in British Columbia. "In my riding it's usually a choice between the CBC and one commercial station. CBC radio has a high value for Canadians and keeps the country connected." Mr. Abbott said he has received no complaints about the absence of regular CBC television programming.

Todd Russell, Liberal MP for Labrador, said CBC radio is vital to his constituents. "Without CBC," he said, "it has been much more difficult communicating about important issues. People are feeling cut off from each other. They're telling me they don't know what the hell is going on. We want the CBC back."

Nova Scotia Liberal Michael Savage echoed the view of many MPs when he urged CBC management to "act in good faith" to end the lockout. "Many of us now believe the public has a right to know what is really going on," he said. "The CBC that Canadians trust is in danger of slowly disappearing. The CBC is not just another corporation, not just another service to the public, but a symbol of our country, indeed a value that we need to sustain."

"Mr Rabinovitch is personally wearing this lockout," said Ian Morrison, spokesman for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "He has hit an immovable object in a well-organized, well-financed union locked out in a minority government situation. He has made a major error by not being sensitive to the environment around him and he'll pay the price."

But Mr. Morrison said his organization would vigorously oppose any attempt by the government to remove Mr. Rabinovitch, who has two years left in his term as CBC president.

"If they try to muscle him out," said Mr. Morrison, "we will be the first to complain. That would be too close to treating the CBC like a state broadcaster. But the lockout will leave him with a lot less freedom of action for the remainder of his term."

Bargaining resumed Thursday under a news blackout.

Also appeared in National Post, Vancouver Sun, and Saskatoon Star Phoenix

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