Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 06/99) - Going back to work after a long weekend is never fun, but CBC technicians are finding the ordeal somewhat easier to stomach than most.

For Yellowknife's 19 technicians, returning to work this week represents an end to a six-week strike.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union announced early Thursday a tentative agreement had been reached, and membership ratification soon followed. Results on Saturday showed that with a nationwide turnout of 83 per cent of some 2,000 members, a 93 per cent majority voted to accept the deal and return to work.

"I feel good," said Yellowknife's Kevin Woldum on Monday, "but for me this is a surprise -- with the way things had been going, I never expected them to settle this quickly."

An electronics technologist at CBC North, Woldum said his wife, Kris, mainly supported the family during the strike and would continue to do so until he gets paid next month.

"We weren't really in dire straights but pulled the kids out of day care, and I was Mr. Mom for a little while," Woldum said. "The strike wasn't a total surprise so we'd had a couple months to get prepared and do some financial planning."

Union Local 85 secretary-treasurer Darrel Eros said Monday that he'd already been in to work over the weekend and that most technicians were pleased with the agreement.

The deal addresses both pay and security concerns and includes a cumulative 11 per cent pay hike by July, 2000, and management's confirmation they have no intention of out-sourcing or reducing regional broadcasting.

CBC's other two units -- its producers and administrators -- represented by the Canadian Media Guild had also come close to striking late last month but reached tentative agreements of their own. Initially announcing it would hold off on ratification votes until the technicians' strike was settled, the guild has since said ratification votes will be held across the country on April 22 and 23.

The guild, which had organized campaigns of moral and financial support for the striking technicians, offered congratulations Thursday.

For its part, management has remained low-key, with human resources vice-president George Smith saying only that CBC is "extremely pleased" with developments. Speaking from Toronto on Thursday, representative Ruth-Ellen Soles said seconded that position.

"I'm just pleased that all three of our units would be back working together again," she said.